Reference jitter values for the sternocleidomastoid muscle with concentric needle electrodes

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Electromyography
• Clinical Neurophysiology

Background:

• Establishing normative data for neuromuscular studies is crucial for accurate diagnosis.
• The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle's electrophysiological properties require defined reference values.
• Concentric needle electrode (CNE) is a standard tool for muscle electrical activity assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine reference jitter values for the voluntary activated sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle.
• To establish upper normal limits for mean consecutive difference (MCD) in SCM muscle.
• To define reference values for individual jitter measurements in the SCM muscle.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 39 healthy participants (18-77 years) for the study.
• Measured jitter using mean consecutive difference (MCD) of 80-100 muscle fiber discharges.
• Utilized filters set at 1 and 10 kHz for signal processing.

Main Results:

• The mean MCD across all participants was 16.20 ± 2.23 μs.
• The calculated upper limit of normal for mean MCD was 21.8 μs.
• The upper limit of normal for individual jitter measurements was determined to be 34.6 μs.

Conclusions:

• The study concludes that the upper normal limit for mean MCD in the SCM muscle is 22 μs.
• The upper normal limit for individual jitter data in the SCM muscle is 35 μs.
• These findings provide essential reference values for clinical neurophysiology assessments of the SCM muscle.