ArticleJournal of biomechanics2020
Positioning and baby devices impact infant spinal muscle activity.
Article in Journal of biomechanics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and benefits of adult-worn slings and baby carriers: a narrative systematic review to inform guidance for parents.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Pooled it
- Quantifying infants' everyday restrained experiences in the home using wearable inertial sensors.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- Axial Force Transmission Through Orthosis Straps in a Neonatal Hip Flexion-Abduction Orthosis: An Exploratory In Vivo Study in Infants with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Designing Infant Mattresses Tailored to Developmental Sleep Characteristics: A Comprehensive Review.Clocks & sleep · 2025Review
- Physical and Physiological Consequences of Babywearing on the Babywearer: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Infant muscle activity is modified by inclined environments during different styles of rolling.Infant behavior & development · 2025Article
- Maternal physical activity levels in early pregnancy and the risk of spinal deformity among preschoolers at age 4: findings from the Shanghai birth cohort study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Commercial infant products influence body position and muscle use.Early human development · 2024Article
- The risk of sleep-related death in an inclined sleep environment.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Mechanical environment influences muscle activity during infant rolling.Human movement science · 2024Article
- Muscle activation and coordinated movements of infant rolling.Journal of biomechanics · 2024Article
- Ultrasonographic evaluation of infant hips in the Pavlik harness compared to body-worn commercial baby carriers.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2023Article
- Exploring infant hip position and muscle activity in common baby gear and orthopedic devices.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2021Article
- Comparison of U.S. and Tajik infants' time in containment devices.Infant and child developmentArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Infant positioning in daily life, particularly in relation to active neck and back muscles, may affect spinal development, psychosocial progression, and motor milestone achievement. Yet the impact of infant body position on muscle activity is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate neck and back muscle activity of healthy infants in common positions and baby devices. Healthy full-term infants (n = 22, 2-6 months) participated in this experimental study. Daily sleep and positioning were reported by caregivers. Cervical paraspinal and erector spinae muscle activity was measured using surface electromyography (EMG) in five positions: lying prone, lying supine, held in-arms, held in a baby carrier, and buckled into a car seat. Mean filtered EMG signal and time that muscles were active were calculated. Paired t-tests were used to compare positions to the prone condition. Caregivers reported that infants spent 12% of daily awake time prone, 43% in supine-lying baby gear, and 44% held in-arms or upright in a baby carrier. Infants exhibited highest erector spinae activity when prone, and lowest cervical paraspinal muscle activity in the car seat. No differences were found between in-arms carrying and babywearing. This first evaluation of the muscle activity of healthy infants supports the importance of prone time in infants' early spinal development because it promotes neck and back muscle activity. Carrying babies in-arms or in baby carriers may also be beneficial to neck muscle development, while prolonged time spent in car seats or containment devices may be detrimental to spinal development.
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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.