Experimental Study: - Maximum Resisting Forces (Isometric/Isotonic) Of Head/Neck in Sagittal Plane

High-impact forces applied to different head/neck positions can cause bodily damage. Studying the maximum neck force tolerance in different head/neck postures under high-impact conditions is valuable for injury prevention and head/neck mechanisms study. This study aimed to determine the maximum neck force tolerance under different head/neck postures, considering the influence of different directions and sizes of the impact force. This report summarizes the firing patterns and muscle activation of the two surface cervical neck muscles, sternocleidomastoid and trapezius, based on the difference in the action potentials of the captured Electromyography (EMG) signal of the surface electrodes using Delsys Bangnoli-4 EMG System. Two different test setups based on the posture of the head/neck and boundary conditions in resisting pulling force. Five volunteers with weight between 53-80 kg and height of 1.63-1.82 m participated in the study. Under isometric contraction conditions, a maximum force of 29.88 kg was recorded with extended head/neck posture. For isotonic contractions, the maximum force was 31.60 kg recorded for movement of head/neck from flexed posture to its upright posture. The study found that different contraction conditions and different head/neck postures, the maximum neck force tolerance is different.

Keywords:Cervical; Firing; Isotonic; Isometric; Muscles; Sternocleidomastoid; Trapezius

Abbreviations:EMG: Electromyography