Table 2.

Group means (SD) for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measures recorded at baseline, 6 weeks (mid-exercise period), and 10 weeks (completion of exercise period), following the commencement of the exercise program, for both the cervical multifidus and longus capitus/colli muscles. Muscle MRI measures include muscle fatty infiltration (MFI) recorded as a proportion, and cross sectional area (CSA) and relative muscle CSA (rmCSA) recorded in millimeters (mm)². For comparison, normative MFI values across all anterior/posterior muscles have been reported previously as [mean (± SD) 0.16 ± (0.033)].⁷

Muscle Variable	Measurement Point			Time Effect	Effect Size
	Baseline	6 weeks	10 weeks	P-Value	η2
Cervical Multifidus
MFI	0.26 ± 0.03	0.22 ± 0.03	0.23 ± 0.02	< 0.01	0.9
CSA	83.68 ± 8.39	96 ± 15.72	115.74 ± 13.73	< 0.001	0.91
rmCSA	61.99 ± 6.97	74.59 ± 11.97	89.65 ± 11.37	< 0.001	0.94
Longus Capitus/Colli
MFI	0.18 ± 0.03	0.16 ± 0.02	0.17 ± 0.04	0.28	0.28
CSA	81.55 ± 12.35	94.68 ± 7.4	115.95 ± 14.45	< 0.001	0.86
rmCSA	66.84 ± 10.79	79.06 ± 6.14	96.63 ± 12.87	< 0.001	0.87