Publications by authors named "Christopher Croker"
Article Synopsis
- MRI is used to analyze cervical spine muscles for individuals with neck pain, but previously lacked scan-rescan reliability data.
- This study evaluated the reliability of measuring neck muscle volumes through repeated MRI scans, assessing both intra- and inter-rater reliability.
- Results showed excellent reliability for muscle quantification, suggesting that while manual tracing is a source of variability, the methods are solid enough to establish norms and compare patients with and without neck pain.
Background: Neck muscle compositional changes may represent potential biomarkers contributing towards chronic neck-related pain and disability.
Objectives: To determine differences in muscle volume in the cervical muscles of individuals with chronic idiopathic neck pain compared with age- and sex-matched asymptomatic individuals, and to determine if these muscle variables relate to spinal level, side (left or right), age, sex, body mass index (BMI) or muscle strength.
Study Design: Cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study.