Repeatability of Cervical Joint Flexion and Extension Within and Between Days

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Spine Motion Analysis
• Repeatability Studies

Background:

• Accurate assessment of dynamic cervical spine motion is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring conditions.
• Understanding the repeatability of cervical flexion and extension is essential for reliable clinical evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the within-day and between-day repeatability of free and unrestricted healthy cervical flexion and extension motion.
• To assess the accuracy of dynamic cervical spine motion measurements over time.

Main Methods:

• Fluoroscopy videos of repeated cervical flexion and extension motions were analyzed for 18 participants.
• Within-day (20-second interval) and between-day (1-week interval) repeatability of joint motion angles were tested.
• Repeated-measures and mixed-model analyses of variance were used to assess joint motion angle differences.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in joint motion angles were found between within-day or between-day repetitions for all cervical joints and motion epochs.
• Average within-day joint motion angle differences were minimal (0.00° ± 2.98° for flexion, 0.00° ± 3.05° for extension).
• Average between-day joint motion angle differences were also minimal (0.02° ± 2.56° for flexion, 0.05° ± 2.40° for extension).

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first report on within-day and between-day joint motion angle differences for repeated cervical flexion and extension.
• The findings support the reliability and accuracy of cervical joint motion during dynamic assessments.
• Dynamic cervical spine motion assessments demonstrate high repeatability in healthy individuals.