فهرست مطالب saeed talebian moghadam

The purpose of this work was to explore cervical position sense and electromyographic (EMG) responses of cervical muscles during head repositioning movements in students with and without upper trapezius muscle trigger points.

Forty-six right-handed men and women subjects without upper extremity disorders participated in this study. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was measured three time before the fatigue test. A force gauge was used to measure force while recording with a monitor. Measurement was initiated with a MVC force before and after fatigue pain and head positioning were measured. When the protocol was accomplished, the subjects showed signs of exhaustion; however, they were not subjectively evaluated for fatigue. As the protocol aimed at assessing muscle fatigue, a force level of 80% MVC was induced.

These findings support the argument that the precision of the neck position sense can be reduced by the fatigue of the neck muscle. Fatigue impaired balance in the trapezius muscles. After removing vision this resulted in an increased center of pressure excursions on a force platform. Motor control did not change significantly in this study.

Fatigue had a more significant effect on cervical kinematics in the healthy subjects, probably due to the fact that altered neck motor control in volunteers implied that these individuals were not completely able to make up for fatigue of the neck muscle. Significant pain and head positioning changes were identified following fatigue applied to the pre-determined myofascial trigger points, but the changes were insignificant in the sham control group.

The present study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of two types of Kinesio taping on the temporal and spatial variables of gait initiation in individuals with and without Functional Ankle Instability (FAI).

Thirty semi-professional athletes (15 with and 15 without FAI [control]) were recruited for this study. The gait initiation task was examined before and after the two types of Kinesio taping on a force plate. Temporal (Reaction Phase [RP], Anticipatory Postural Adjustment Phase [APAP]), and spatial variables were recorded and compared between Groups, before and after the tape application.

The results of multiple repeated-measure analyses of variance showed no significant differences for “factor” and “Group by factor” interaction effects for any outcome measure (P>0.05). There were no significant differences for Group effects except for the APAP (F=10.27, P=0.003). The APAA was 71.95 ms longer in the FAI Group (476.95±15.87 ms) compared to the control Group (405.04±15.87 ms).

Kinesio taping application does not influence any of the gait initiation parameters on the force plate. Participants with FAI demonstrated longer APAP which might be due to recurrent injury and instability during sports or physical activity.

Latent Myofascial Trigger Points (LMTrPs) are defined as certain pain-free hyperirritable spots in a taut band of muscle, which lead to alternation in muscle activation pattern in both loaded and unloaded conditions. Fatigue can alter the stability of the cervical spine because of transferring loads to the passive connective tissues and also increasing muscle activity. Few studies have investigated the effects of fatigue on the parameters of the upper trapezius muscle as a more common muscle to MTrPs. This study attempts to examine the electromyographic activity of the upper trapezius muscle fatigue during shoulder elevation.

Thirty-six right-handed subjects without upper extremity disorders took part in this study. The highest measured force level was assumed to be the Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC) of the trapezius. A sustained submaximal contraction of the trapezius was performed. The subjects were asked to sustain a unilateral (80%) MVC isometric shoulder elevation until the force gauge monitor showed (50%) of MVC in at least three minutes.

The Root Mean Square (RMS norm) of the sustained trapezius contractions showed differences between the groups. The Myocardial Depressant Factor (MDF) parameters of the left and right sides of both healthy subjects and patients were significantly different (P<0.001).

The increase in RMS is related to the recruitment of additional motor units and also an increased firing rate. These are necessary to compensate for the loss of force. This accumulation also inhibits the excitability of the muscle membrane, thereby causing a decrease in the firing rate and, consequently, a decrease in Median Frequency (MF).

With regard to the multidimensional concept of the voice, different assessments are needed to diagnose and treat voice disorders. Additionally, it is important to know how various aspects of voice are compared and related to each other.

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) score and the acoustic measures in different types of Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD).Patients and

Eighteen females including 12 with primary MTD (group 1) and 6 with secondary MTD (group 2) participated in this cross-sectional study. All subjects completed VHI and were provided with voice samples including three trials of the sustained vowel /a/ at a comfortable loudness level as well as a connected speech sample. Acoustic measures were performed with Praat software and included fundamental frequency, jitter %, shimmer % and intensity.

Certain correlations were found between fundamental frequency in vowel and total VHI, physical, functional and emotional domains of VHI in group 1 (r = 0.636, 0.649, 0.613 and 0.592 respectively). There was good correlation between speaking fundamental frequency and total VHI and its subscales - except the physical subscale - were also correlated. In group 2, the correlations between jitter and total VHI as well as the emotional domain of VHI was very good (r = 0.829, and 0.812 respectively). Furthermore, we found very good correlation between the intensity of speech and functional domain (r = 0.812).

VHI and acoustic parameters likely measure different aspects of voice and thus are not interchangeable. However, the correlation between VHI and some laboratory measurements increases in dysphonia of the same nature, origin and same sexuality.