ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2017
Shear wave elastography reveals different degrees of passive and active stiffness of the neck extensor muscles.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characterizing Musculoskeletal Tissue Mechanics Based on Shear Wave Propagation: A Systematic Review of Current Methods and Reported Measurements.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of spinal manipulation combined with cervical kinetic chain training on neck muscle function in cervical vertigo: a preliminary prospective controlled study.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Trial
- Four weeks of exercise regimen for sedentary workers with rounded shoulder posture: a randomized controlled study.Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina · 2022Trial
- Level-dependent changes in cervical multifidus composition following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: bridging quantitative MRI and clinical perspectives.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Observational
- Predicting cervical muscle forces in fighter pilots: a comparison of shear wave elastography and PID controllers using finite element analysis.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Investigation of Skin Circulation Hemodynamics Using Skin Laser Speckle Flowgraphy After Trapezius Muscle Self-Stretching.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Relationship between knee joint angles and infrapatellar fat pad stiffness in patients with knee osteoarthritis.Journal of medical ultrasonics (2001) · 2026Article
- Ultrasound and MRI-based evaluation of relationships between morphological and mechanical properties of the lower lumbar multifidus muscle in chronic low back pain.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Effects of Trapezius Muscle Self-Stretching on Muscle Stiffness and Choroidal Circulatory Dynamics: An Evaluation Using Ultrasound Strain Elastography and Laser Speckle Flowgraphy.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2025Article
- Association among clinical severity indicators, psychological health status and elastic properties of neck muscles in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Observational
- Immediate effects of high-intensity laser therapy for nonspecific neck pain: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Ultrasound elastography of back muscle biomechanical properties: a systematic review and meta-analysis of current methods.Insights into imaging · 2024Review
- Effect of Knee Angle, Contractile Activity, and Intensity of Force Production on Vastus Lateralis Stiffness: A Supersonic Shear Wave Elastography Pilot Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Cervical Multifidus Stiffness Assessment in Individuals with and without Unilateral Chronic Neck Pain: An Inter-Examiner Reliability Study.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Elastic Modulus of Suboccipital Muscles, Cervical Range of Motion, and Forward Head Posture in Cervicogenic Headache.Journal of biomedical physics & engineering · 2023Article
- Specification of Neck Muscle Dysfunction through Digital Image Analysis Using Machine Learning.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Characteristics of Surface Electromyograph Activity of Cervical Extensors and Flexors in Nonspecific Neck Pain Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- [Feeling stiff…but what does it mean objectively? : Can you measure muscle tension?]Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Review
- Assessment of Neck Muscle Shear Modulus Normalization in Women with and without Chronic Neck Pain.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe neck extensor muscles contribute to spinal support and posture while performing head and neck motion. Muscle stiffness relates to passive elasticity (support) and active tensioning (posture and movement) of muscle. It was hypothesized that support and motion requirements are reflected in the distribution of stiffness between superficial and deep neck extensor muscles.
methodsIn ten healthy participants, shear modulus (stiffness) of five neck extensor muscles was determined in prone at rest and during isometric head lift at three intensities using shear wave elastography.
resultsShear modulus differed between muscles (P < 0.001), and was larger for the deeper muscles: (median (interquartile range)) trapezius 7.7 kPa (4.4), splenius capitis 6.5 kPa (2.5), semispinalis capitis 8.9 kPa (2.8), semispinalis cervicis 9.5 kPa (2.5), multifidus 14.9 kPa (1.4). Shear modulus differed between the resting condition and head lift (P < 0.001) but not between levels of head lift intensity.
conclusionShear wave elastography revealed highest passive and active stiffness of the deep neck extensor muscles most close to the spine. The highest active increase of stiffness during the head lift was found in the semispinalis cervicis muscle. The non-invasive, clinically applicable estimates of muscle stiffness have potential for the assessment of muscular changes associated with neck pain/injury.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.