Maximal isometric strength of the cervical musculature in 100 healthy volunteers

Study Design. A descriptive study involving maximal isometric strength meas urements of the cervical musculature. Objectives. To determine the maximal isometric strength of the flexors and extensors and of the cervical musculature in 100 healthy volunteers (50 men and 50 women). Summary of Background Data. The literature contains only a few descriptive studies pertaining to strength levels of the cervical musculature. These st udies include small subject populations, and measurement methods have demon strated weak reliability. Methods. Testing was carried out using strain-gauge technology on a neck mu scle training apparatus. Results. A reliability study demonstrated acceptable intraday and day-to-da y values. Maximal isometric strength was approximately 20% to 25% higher in male subjects than female subjects in both flexion and extension from the third to the sixth decades. In the seventh decade, the women's strength lev els surpassed values for men in both flexion and extension. Extension-flexi on ratios were approximately 1.7 to 1 in both the men and women participant s. The men demonstrated a significant decrease in maximal isometric strengt h with increasing age in both flexion and extension, whereas the women were able to maintain strength values in the ages tested. Conclusions. Men and women demonstrate impressive levels of muscular streng th in the flexors and extensors of the cervical spine and can maintain thes e values until the seventh decade of life. Successful rehabilitation of the cervical musculature will require considerable resistance for sufficient s timulation of the cervical musculature.