ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2015
Evidence for a general stiffening motor control pattern in neck pain: a cross sectional study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Head kinematics in patients with neck pain compared to asymptomatic controls: a systematic review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Electronic measures of movement impairment, repositioning, and posture in people with and without neck pain-a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Gamified IMU Sensor-Based System for Training Head-Orientation Tasks in Healthy Teenagers: Event-Driven Architecture and Randomised Pilot Feasibility Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Trial
- Effect of gaze direction recognition task on pain, rom and functional activities in cervicogenic headache patients.BMC neurology · 2025Trial
- The Effect of Proprioception Training on Pain Intensity in Thumb Basal Joint Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Sensorimotor performance in acute-subacute non-specific neck pain: a non-randomized prospective clinical trial with intervention.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Trial
- Twelve-month effect of chronic pain self-management intervention delivered in an easily accessible primary healthcare service - a randomised controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Task-dependent muscle activation during functional upper-Limb tasks in adults with and without chronic non-specific neck pain: A cross-sectional study.Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation · 2026Observational
- Elastographic Changes in Cervical Muscle Following Combined Radial Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy and Orthopedic Manual Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with Pain, Disability, and Quality of Life in Adults Aged 18-65 with Nonspecific Chronic Neck Pain: A Single-Center Observational Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Machine learning identifies distinct movement control impairment clusters in patients with chronic neck pain.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Postural and cervical proprioceptive implications in adult humans with ankyloglossia: an observational study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Observational
- Effects of Global Postural Re-Education Versus Specific Therapeutic Exercises on Pain, Head Posture, and Pain-Related Psychosocial Factors in Women with Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Preoperative Factors on Loss of Range of Motion after Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Article
- The relationship between cervical spine range of motion and postural sway in mechanical neck pain: A cross-sectional study.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liao · 2023Article
- Kinematic analysis of sensorimotor control during the craniocervical flexion movement in patients with neck pain and asymptomatic individuals: a cross-sectional study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Observational
- A network analysis reveals the interaction between fear and physical features in people with neck pain.Scientific reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNeck pain is associated with several alterations in neck motion and motor control. Previous studies have investigated single constructs of neck motor control, while few have applied a comprehensive set of tests to investigate cervical motor control. This comparative cross- sectional study aimed to investigate different motor control constructs in neck pain patients and healthy controls.
methodsA total of 166 subjects participated in the study, 91 healthy controls (HC) and 75 neck pain patients (NP) with long-lasting moderate to severe neck pain. Neck flexibility, proprioception, head steadiness, trajectory movement control, and postural sway were assessed using a 3D motion tracking system (Liberty). The different constructs of neck motion and motor control were based on tests used in previous studies.
resultsNeck flexibility was lower in NP compared to HC, indicated by reduced cervical ROM and conjunct motion. Movement velocity was slower in NP compared to HC. Tests of head steadiness showed a stiffer movement pattern in NP compared to HC, indicated by lower head angular velocity. NP patients departed less from a predictable trajectory movement pattern (figure of eight) compared to healthy controls, but there was no difference for unpredictable movement patterns (the Fly test). No differences were found for postural sway in standing with eyes open and eyes closed. However, NP patients had significantly larger postural sway when standing on a balance pad. Proprioception did not differ between the groups. Largest effect sizes (ES) were found for neck flexibility (ES range: 0.2-0.8) and head steadiness (ES range: 1.3-2.0). Neck flexibility was the only construct that showed a significant association with current neck pain, while peak velocity was the only variable that showed a significant association with kinesiophobia.
conclusionsNP patients showed an overall stiffer and more rigid neck motor control pattern compared to HC, indicated by lower neck flexibility, slower movement velocity, increased head steadiness and more rigid trajectory head motion patterns. Only neck flexibility showed a significant association with clinical features in NP patients.
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