Effects of various head postures on flexor carpi radialis H reflex in healthy subjects
Abstract
Background and Aim: The H reflex is a useful measure of the nerve conduction through the entire length of the afferent and efferent pathways, especially at the proximal segment of the peripheral nerve, which is inaccessible by routine surface stimulating and recording techniques. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to determine the effect of head postural modification on flexor carpi radialis H reflex in healthy subjects. Methods: This study was done on 40 healthy individuals with a mean age of 22.37 ± 1.23. The H reflex was then recorded by the use of the electromyography machine with the subject in a sitting position. The subjects were asked to maintain 30‑s hold into the end range of flexion, extension, rotation (to the right and then to the left), lateral bending (to the right and then to the left), retraction, and protraction of neck. The H reflex amplitude, latency and H/M ratio were measured. Results: Repeated multivariate analysis of variance was used to evaluate the significance of the difference among the H reflex, amplitude, and latency, in various head positions. Head postural modification does not significantly influences amplitude, latency and H/M ratio in normal healthy subjects. Conclusion: The H reflex latencies, amplitudes and H/M ratios did not show any significant difference between various head positions when compared with neutral head position.
Copyright (c) 2015 Monica Dixit, Ranjan Kumar Dixit, Sajjad Jafer Khan, Rakesh Kumar Sukla, Rakesh Kumar Sukla
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