Abstract

Increasing the strength of the cervical musculature has been suggested as a means of attenuating the acceleration forces that cause concussions in sports such as football. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an eight-week isoinertial cervical resistance training program on the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and upper trapezius (UT) as well as the kinematics of the head and neck in response to a football tackle. Sixteen college-aged males (21.6 ± 2.8 yrs) with previous high school football playing experience completed an eight-week isoinertial cervical resistance-training program consisting of three sets of 10 repetitions of neck extension, flexion, and right and left lateral flexion at 60-80% of 10 repetition maximum (RM), two to three times per week. Isometric cervical strength, neck girth, and both the EMG and kinematic responses of the head and neck during tackling were measured before and after training. All kinematic data were gathered using a ViconNexus (R) 3D motion capturing system. Statistical analyses of EMG and kinematic data were performed by utilizing an ANCOVA with repeated measures (level of significance was set at p < 0.05). Training resulted in 7 and 10% increases (p < 0.05) in isometric cervical extension and left lateral flexion strength, respectively, but had no influence on the EMG responses of the SCM or UT, peak linear or angular head accelerations during tackling. The UT demonstrated approximately 40% higher absolute EMG activity than the SCM during tackling both before and after training. This study showed that despite modest training-induced improvements in isometric cervical strength, the eight-week isoinertial cervical resistance training program failed to augment dynamic stabilization of the head and neck during a football tackle. Verf.-Referat