Table 1.
Description of the motor control and cervical motion variables
| Construct | Test | Assessment | Unit of measure | Sensors | Reps per test | Analyzed | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck flexibility | Active neck movements in flexion/extension, rotation and lateral flexion | Cervical ROM in flexion/extension, rotation, and, lateral flexion | deg | S1 vs S2 | 3 | Avg | Full cycle cervical ROM |
| Conjunct motion in the two associated movement planes | deg | Avg | According to Woodhouse et al. (2008) | ||||
| Peak velocity in flexion/extension, rotation and lateral flexion | deg/s | Avg | 3 D angular velocity | ||||
| Proprioception | Joint position error in left and right head rotation | 3D repositioning error in left and right rotation | deg | S1 vs S2 | 6 | Avg | 3 repetitions in each direction |
| Trajectory movement control | FOE slow speed | Average point deviation (PD) | cm | S1 vs TX | 1 | Single | 30 sec duration |
| FOE fast speed | 1 | 20 sec duration | |||||
| FOE in standing, slow speed | 1 | 30 sec duration. | |||||
| The Fly test, 1A | Average point deviation (PD) | cm | S1 vs TX | 1 | Single | 30 sec duration for all of the Fly tests. Adopted from Kristjansson et al. (2010) | |
| The Fly test, 2B | 1 | ||||||
| The Fly test, 1B | 1 | ||||||
| The Fly test, 2A | 1 | ||||||
| Head steadiness | Isometric neck flexion, low load | Average 3 D angular velocity | deg/s | S1 vs S2 | 1 | Single | 60 sec duration 60° recumbent position |
| Isometric neck flexion, high load | Average 3 D angular velocity | deg/s | 1 | 30 sec duration Supine position | |||
| Holding time | sec | ||||||
| Postural sway | Standing balance EO | Sway area (95 % confidence area) | cm2 | S3 vs TX | 1 | Single | 60 sec duration for the tests of standing balance. |
| Standing balance EC | 1 | ||||||
| Standing balance EOB | 1 | ||||||
| FOE in standing | 1 | 30 sec duration |
The column test lists the order of the tests in the data collection.
ROM = range of motion. CM = conjunct motion. Deg = degrees. 3D = 3 dimensional. FOE = figure of eight. EO = eyes open. EC = eyes closed. EOB = eyes open balance pad. S1 = forehead sensor. S2 = spinous process of T2. S3 = spinous process of L4-L5. TX = transmitter on Liberty. 1A = easy pattern, small ROM. 1B = easy pattern, large ROM. 2A = difficult pattern, small ROM. 2B = difficult pattern, large ROM.