Background: Manual examinations and subsequent manual therapy became the mainstream options for
treatment of mechanical musculoskeletal disorders. Neurodynamics deals with the mechanics
and pathomechanics of the nervous system as it moves relative to its adjacent tissues.
Objectives: We determined upper trapezius activity during upper limb neural tension test-1 (ULTT-1)
in asymptomatic National level Karate players of Madhya Pradesh State of India and
correlated its activity with sensory responses during neural test. Subjects and Methods: Fifty national-level karate players (26 males) aged 20 to 25 years (mean age 22.0±1.4
SD) with no history of musculoskeletal or neurological injury were studied. Sensory
response intensity was recorded on visual analogue scale (VAS). Electromyography (EMG)
activity of upper trapezius muscle was recorded from the muscle belly. Results: All subjects showed ‘positive’ sensory responses on VAS with the mean value of 6.5±1.1
and EMG activity in upper trapezius muscle with mean of 93±19 microvolts. They all
had “positive” sensory responses during upper limb tension test-1. They were described
mainly as stretch, pain, pull and, tightness. Majority of the sensory responses was
reported during the stages of wrist and elbow extension and all subjects showed increased
EMG activity in upper trapezius muscle during ULTT-1, which correlated directly with
the perceived sensory response. Conclusion: Upper trapezius muscle activity is evident during ULTT-1 which is directly correlated
with the perceived intensity of sensory responses during the test. Sensory responses
to ULTT 1 can be elicited in a large proportion of asymptomatic active young players.
Key-words:
Upper Limb Neural Tension Test-1 (ULTT-1) - Electromyography (EMG) - Trapezius muscle.
