The Association between Isometric Cervical Extension Force and Dimensions of Semispinalis Capitis Muscle

Objective: The anatomy of the human cervical region has a special complexity. Ultrasonography is a scanning technique, which has been successfully used to identify and measure the cervical muscle dimensions. The purpose of this study was to detect the dimensional changes of the human Semispinalis Capitis Muscle (SECM) with Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) during isometric cervical extension. Materials & Methods: Six junior ice hockey players took part in the study. We simultaneously measured the values of estimates, such as breadth or anteroposterior dimension (APD) and width or lateral dimension (LD), of the SECM cross-sectional area during isometric cervical extension at different maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) percentile levels (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%). Results: The result of multiplication of the linear dimensions (APD×LD), considered as the size of the SECM, increased (P