Rocking in a rocking chair activates trunk muscles in children with spinal cord injury and impaired trunk control.
Johnathan J George, Andrea L Behrman, Beatrice Ugiliweneza and 2 others
PMID 40153271WHAT IT FOUND
Rocking in a custom chair significantly increased trunk muscle activity in children with spinal cord injury compared to quiet sitting.
All eleven children with SCI could rock the chair independently, found it enjoyable, and experienced no injuries, suggesting it is a safe, accessible way to activate trunk muscles.
Key findings
01Muscle activation in the trunk was significantly higher during rocking than during quiet sitting for all twelve muscles tested in both groups.
02Children with higher inherent trunk control scores showed significantly greater activation in lower trunk muscles (rectus abdominis, oblique, and lumbar paraspinals) during rocking.
03The rocking chair was safe and accessible: no injuries occurred, and every child in the study was able to make the chair rock regardless of their level of impairment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was a descriptive pilot with a small sample size (11 children with SCI), so it cannot determine if rocking leads to long-term functional improvements. The participants with SCI had a wide range of impairments, and the sample skewed towards those with better trunk control (higher SATCo scores), limiting generalizability to children with very low trunk control. Height differences between the SCI and TD groups were a confounding factor that may have influenced the observed muscle activation patterns. sEMG data was subject to noise and cardiac artifacts, which required complex processing that may have introduced uncertainty into the precise timing of muscle activation.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the increased muscle activation as proof that rocking improves functional trunk control or mobility. This was a short-term observational study measuring immediate muscle activity, not a clinical trial evaluating long-term therapeutic outcomes.