An analysis on muscle tone and stiffness of posterior cervical region during sling and plinth on static prone position.
Joong-San Wang
PMID 29184302WHAT IT FOUND
The study did not show a difference between sling and plinth over time.
In the sling group, upper cervical muscle tone and stiffness showed short-term declines; the plinth group did not. Neck pain was not studied.
Key findings
01No statistically significant differences were found between the sling and plinth groups in changes over time.
02The sling group showed statistically significant declines in muscle tone and stiffness in the upper cervical region, and in muscle tone of the upper trapezius.
03The plinth group showed no statistically significant changes over time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 24 healthy male students in their 20s, all without neck pain, so it does not show what happens in patients with neck pain. The outcomes were machine-measured muscle tone and stiffness, not pain, function, disability, or patient-reported improvement. The comparison between sling and plinth groups over time was not statistically significant. The very small groups and short measurement window limit confidence in any position-specific effect.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the sling group's significant declines as evidence that sling suspension reduces neck pain or stiffness in patients. The participants were healthy young men with no neck pain, and the sling and plinth groups did not differ significantly over time.