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René Lindstroem

Bio: René Lindstroem is an academic researcher from Aalborg University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cervical vertebrae & Electromyography. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 10 publications receiving 161 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The activity of the semispinalis cervicis muscle is reduced and less defined in patients with neck pain confirming a disturbance in the neural control of this muscle.

68 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The average maximum voluntary force produced in neck flexion, extension, and lateral flexion is inversely and moderately correlated with the pain experienced during maximal contraction, fear of movement, and aspects of neck disability in patients with chronic neck pain.

59 citations

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TL;DR: Novel mapping of the spatial distribution of upper trapezius muscle activity showed that nociception induced a redistribution of activity during repetitive lifting, and alterations of muscle activity likely play an important role in the perpetuation of pain during repetitive activity.
Abstract: Objective:An association exists between repetitive movements and the development or perpetuation of neck-shoulder muscle pain. The mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. This observational study investigated the effect of upper trapezius muscle pain on the distribution of upper trape

22 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This is the first study to demonstrate single joint reposition errors of the cervical spine, which returns to the upright positions with a 2° average absolute difference after cervical flexion and extension movements in healthy adults.
Abstract: Upright head and neck position has been frequently applied as baseline for diagnosis of neck problems. However, the variance of the position after cervical motions has never been demonstrated. Thus, it is unclear if the baseline position varies evenly across the cervical joints. The purpose was to assess reposition errors of upright cervical spine. Cervical reposition errors were measured in twenty healthy subjects (6 females) using video-fluoroscopy. Two flexion movements were performed with a 20 s interval, the same was repeated for extension, with an interval of 5 min between flexion and extension movements. Cervical joint positions were assessed with anatomical landmarks and external markers in a Matlab program. Reposition errors were extracted in degrees (initial position minus reposition) as constant errors (CEs) and absolute errors (AEs). Twelve of twenty-eight CEs (7 joints times 4 repositions) exceeded the minimal detectable change (MDC), while all AEs exceeded the MDC. Averaged AEs across the cervical joints were larger after 5 min’ intervals compared to 20 s intervals (p < 0.05). This is the first study to demonstrate single joint reposition errors of the cervical spine. The cervical spine returns to the upright positions with a 2° average absolute difference after cervical flexion and extension movements in healthy adults.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This is the first report of quantified anti-directional cervical flexion and extension motion and it document that large proportions of anti- Directional cervical Flexion and Extension motions were normal.

13 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 2013-Pain
TL;DR: It is indicated that pain threshold is a poor marker of central sensitization or that sensitization does not play a major role in patients' reporting of pain and disability in people with spinal pain.
Abstract: Sensitization of the nervous system can present as pain hypersensitivity that may contribute to clinical pain. In spinal pain, however, the relationship between sensory hypersensitivity and clinical pain remains unclear. This systematic review examined the relationship between pain sensitivity measured via quantitative sensory testing (QST) and self-reported pain or pain-related disability in people with spinal pain. Electronic databases and reference lists were searched. Correlation coefficients for the relationship between QST and pain intensity or disability were pooled using random effects models. Subgroup analyses and mixed effects meta-regression were used to assess whether the strength of the relationship was moderated by variables related to the QST method or pain condition. One hundred and forty-five effect sizes from 40 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled estimates for the correlation between pain threshold and pain intensity were -0.15 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.18 to -0.11) and for disability -0.16 (95% CI: -0.22 to -0.10). Subgroup analyses and meta-regression did not provide evidence that these relationships were moderated by the QST testing site (primary pain/remote), pain condition (back/neck pain), pain type (acute/chronic), or type of pain induction stimulus (eg, mechanical/thermal). Fair correlations were found for the relationship between pain intensity and thermal temporal summation (0.26, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.42) or pain tolerance (-0.30, 95% CI: -0.45 to -0.13), but only a few studies were available. Our study indicates either that pain threshold is a poor marker of central sensitization or that sensitization does not play a major role in patients' reporting of pain and disability. Future research prospects are discussed.

155 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of the various different structural and functional changes in the deep neck extensor muscles documented in patients with neck pain is provided and relevant recommendations for the management of muscle dysfunction in patientswith neck pain are presented.

104 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2014-Spine
TL;DR: Findings clarify that previous reports of increased relative CSA in patients with chronic whiplash represent cervical muscle pseudohypertrophy, and reveal atrophy in several muscles in both patients with WAD and idiopathic neck pain, which supports inclusion of muscle conditioning in the total management of these patients.
Abstract: Study design A population based cross-sectional study. Objective To clarify relative constituents of viable muscle in 2-dimensional cross-sectional area (CSA) measures of ventral and dorsal cervical muscles in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD), idiopathic neck pain, and healthy controls. Summary of background data Previous data using T1-weighted magnetic resonance image demonstrated large amounts of neck muscle fat infiltration and increased neck muscle CSA in patients with chronic WAD but not in idiopathic neck pain or healthy controls. Methods Magnetic resonance images were obtained for 14 cervical muscle regions in 136 females, including 79 with chronic whiplash, 23 with chronic idiopathic neck pain, and 34 healthy controls. Results Without fat removed, relative CSA of 7 of 14 muscle regions in the participants with chronic WAD was larger, 3 of 14 smaller and 4 of 14 similar to healthy individuals. When T1-weighted signal representing the lipid content of these muscles was removed, 8 of 14 relative muscle CSA in patients with whiplash were similar, 5 of 14 were smaller and only 1 of 14 was larger than those observed in healthy controls. Removal of fat from the relative CSA measurement did not alter findings between participants with idiopathic neck pain and healthy controls. Conclusion These findings clarify that previous reports of increased relative CSA in patients with chronic whiplash represent cervical muscle pseudohypertrophy. Relative muscle CSA measures reveal atrophy in several muscles in both patients with WAD and idiopathic neck pain, which supports inclusion of muscle conditioning in the total management of these patients. Level of evidence 3.

92 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although exercise can be effective for relief of neck pain, little is known about the effect of exercise on the neural control of neck muscles.

83 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The majority of the tests evaluated showed satisfactory reliability and construct validity supporting their use in the clinical evaluation of patients with chronic neck pain, however, differences were within the limits of the minimal detectable change.
Abstract: The reliability of clinical tests for the cervical spine has not been adequately evaluated. Six cervical clinical tests, which are low cost and easy to perform in clinical settings, were tested for intra- and inter-examiner reliability, and two performance tests were assessed for test-retest reliability in people with and without chronic neck pain. Moreover, construct and between-group discriminative validity of the tests were examined. Twenty-one participants with chronic neck pain and 21 asymptomatic participants were included. Intra- and inter-reliability were evaluated for the Cranio-Cervical Flexion Test (CCFT), Range of Movement (ROM), Joint Position Error (JPE), Gaze Stability (GS), Smooth Pursuit Neck Torsion Test (SPNTT), and neuromuscular control of the Deep Cervical Extensors (DCE). Test-retest reliability was assessed for Postural Control (SWAY) and Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) over tibialis anterior, infraspinatus and the C3-C4 segment. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for intra- and inter-examiner reliability was highest for ROM (range: 0.80 to 0.94), DCE (0.75 to 0.90) and CCFT (0.63 to 0.86). JPE had the lowest ICC (0.02 to 0.66). Intra- and inter-reliability for GS and SPNTT showed kappa ranging from 0.66 to 0.92, and 0.57 to 0.78 (prevalence adjusted), respectively. For the test-retest study, ICC was 0.83 to 0.89 for PPT and 0.39 to 0.79 for SWAY. Construct validity was satisfactory for all tests, except JPE. Significant between group discriminative validity was found for CCFT, ROM, GS, SPNTT and PPT, however, differences were within the limits of the minimal detectable change. The majority of the tests evaluated showed satisfactory reliability and construct validity supporting their use in the clinical evaluation of patients with chronic neck pain.

76 citations