Injuries of the cervical spine occur in contact sports. Generally, muscle strengthening training of the neck is performed to prevent injuries of the cervical spine. Isometric resistance training with chin-in posture exercise is recommended for strengthening the neck. However, muscle strength and electromyography(EMG)date for chin-in posture have not been reported. The purpose of this study was to validate muscle strength and EMG testing during chin-in posture. Subjects were fifteen healthy men without pathological conditions in the neck. Muscle strength date and EMG measurements were taken for maximal voluntary isometric contraction(MVIC)flexion and extension actions during normal and chin-in posture. Subjects performed MVIC using a handheld dynamometer and surface EMG was recorded sternocleidomastoid, scalenus, upper trapezius, and splenius muscles. Results of chin-in posture showed a significant increase in muscle strength and EMG of all muscles. These results indicate the beneficial effect of chin-in posture which can increase muscle strength and prevent injuries of the neck.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We applied a back light system (BLS) with a magnifying glass to improve the ability to assess the adequacy of specimen sampling using endosonography. We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of the BLS in sampling of specimens by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of solid pancreatic masses. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, crossover, single-center clinical trial. An endosonographer evaluated adequacy on gross visual inspection and identified whitish specimen sampling sites with and without the BLS according to a randomization sequence in the first and second passes with a 25-G needle. On cytological evaluation, the presence of well-defined pancreatic ductal epithelium was evaluated by a cytopathologist who was blinded to any clinical information. RESULTS: A total of 80 consecutive patients were eligible during the study period. Adequacy was observed for 52 specimens (65%) with the BLS and 54 (68%) without the BLS (p=0.88). In assessment of specimen adequacy on gross examination, only fair agreement was observed both with and without BLS (kappa score 0.40 and 0.29, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The BLS did not influence the ability to identify specimen sampling sites or reliable assessment of specimen site adequacy using gross visual inspection.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cross-Over Studies ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Endosonography ; Epithelium ; Glass ; Humans ; Needles ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Prospective Studies ; Random Allocation