Relationship between cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility measured during dynamic unpredictable head movements and eye movement control or postural balance in neck pain patients

Majcen Rošker, Živa (author), Vodičar, Miha (author), Kristjansson, Eythor (author)

Cervical afferent input is believed to affect postural balance and oculomotor control in neck pain patients, but its relationship to cervicocephalic kinesthesia, describing movement sense, has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of two aspects of cervicocephalic kinesthesia to postural balance and oculomotor control in neck torsion positions. Forty-three idiopathic neck pain patients referred from orthopedic outpatient clinics and forty-two asymptomatic controls were enrolled in the study. A force plate was used to measure center-of-pressure movements during parallel stances under neutral and neck torsion maneuvers. Video-oculography was used to assess eye movements during smooth pursuit neck torsion test (SPNTT), while kinesthetic awareness was measured using the Butterfly test and head-to-neutral relocation test. Multiple regression was used to describe relationships between tests. Body sway in the anterior–posterior direction was related to Butterfly parameters but less to the head-to-neutral test. A medium relationship between Butterfly parameters and gain during SPNTT, with less SPNT-difference, was observed, but not for the head-to-neutral test. It can be concluded that specific aspect of neck kinesthetic functions (i.e., movement sense) importantly contributes towards oculomotor and balance control, which is more evident under neck torsion positions in neck pain patients, but is less pronounced in asymptomatic individuals.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, sensorimotor functions, neck pain, patients, balance, oculomotor control, proprioception, neck pain patients
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport; MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 19, iss. 14, art. 8405
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-145188
• UDC: 796.01:611.93:616-009.7
• ISSN on article: 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148405
• COBISS.SI-ID: 119369731
• Publication date in RUL: 12.04.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of environmental research and public health
• Shortened title: Int. j. environ. res. public health
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1660-4601
• COBISS.SI-ID: 1818965

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: šport, senzomotorične funkcije, bolečine v vratu, bolniki, ravnovesje, okulomotorni nadzor, propriocepcija

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0147
• Name: Kineziologija monostrukturnih, polistrukturnih in konvencionalnih športov