Articles related toMusculoskeletal Medicine and Pain

Whiplash type injuries resulting from a rear end motor vehicle accident are thought to be caused by excessive loading and displacement of structural components of the cervical spine. On impact, the seat propels the driver’s torso forward relative to the head, resulting in forced flexion of the occipitoatlantal (OA) joint, accompanied by forced stretching of the rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPm) muscles. To quantify the relationships among flexion of the OA joint, RCPm muscle stretch, and backset - and to quantify the biomechanical response of RCPm muscles to increasing levels of axial load due to stretching - the authors assessed the results of hydrauclic stretching of RCPm muscles from unembalmed head and neck specimens from three elderly White female cadavers.

Previous studies have indicated that the muscle energy technique (MET) and the positional release technique (PRT) are effective in the management of piriformis syndrome (PS); however, evidence is scarce regarding the combination of these techniques in the form of an integrated neuromuscular inhibition technique (INIT) in the management of individuals with PS. The authors conducted a single blind, randomized clinical trial of 48 patients to examine the effects of INIT with integrated RRAF compared with PRT in the management of patients diagnosed with PS.