What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to compare muscle activation of trapezius and SCM during five upper limb tasks in individuals with chronic non-specific neck pain and asymptomatic controls.

February 27, 2026

Task-dependent muscle activation during functional upper-Limb tasks in adults with and without chronic non-specific neck pain: A cross-sectional study

Key Points

The study aims to compare muscle activation of trapezius and SCM during five upper limb tasks in individuals with chronic non-specific neck pain and asymptomatic controls.
Cross-sectional comparative observational design.
Participants included 27 individuals with CNNP and 25 asymptomatic controls.
Five upper limb tasks were analyzed using surface electromyography.
Muscle activation assessed included upper, middle, and lower trapezius and SCM.
Functional capacity evaluated using WorkWell Systems Functional Capacity Evaluation.
CNNP individuals showed greater upper trapezius activation across all tasks (p < 0.01).
Significant middle trapezius differences were observed in most tasks (p < 0.01).
Lower trapezius differences were smaller but still significant (p < 0.05).
SCM activity increased during the overhead lift task (p < 0.01).
Individuals with CNNP performed worse than controls in multiple tasks (p < 0.001).

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough many studies explore surface electromyography (sEMG) in static postures, research on muscle activation during dynamic tasks in chronic non-specific neck pain (CNNP) is limited.ObjectivesTo compare trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) activation and functional capacity during five upper limb tasks between individuals with CNNP and asymptomatic controls.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional comparative observational study. Twenty-seven individuals with CNNP and 25 asymptomatic controls completed five tasks: repetitive reaching (RRT), sustained overhead work (OW), waist-to-overhead lift (OL), fingertip dexterity (FD), and hand-forearm dexterity (HFD). sEMG recorded upper (UT), middle (MT), and lower trapezius (LT), and SCM activity. Functional capacity was assessed using selected WorkWell Systems Functional Capacity Evaluation (WWS-FCE) tasks.ResultsCNNP individuals showed greater UT activation across all tasks (p 0.05). Significant Group × Task interactions were observed for UT, MT, and SCM (p 0.05).ConclusionMuscle activation profiles in chronic non-specific neck pain change with tasks, highlighting the importance of evaluating functional activities beyond static-posture assessments.

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Task-dependent muscle activation during functional upper-Limb tasks in adults with and without chronic non-specific neck pain: A cross-sectional study

Key Points

Abstract

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