Part 1: Evaluating Neck-Strengthening Protocols to Reduce the Incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury: Traditional vs. Nontraditional Neck-Strengthening Techniques

Abstract

Abstract Schroeder, LH, McDaniel, AT, Wang, Y, Dickens, GM, Pantani, V, and Kubinak, H. Part 1: evaluating neck-strengthening protocols to reduce the incidence of traumatic brain injury: traditional vs. nontraditional neck-strengthening techniques. J Strength Cond Res 38(1): 21–29, 2024—A common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) is the head's kinematic response to rapid movement, which can be reduced with dynamic neck strengthening. This study aimed to determine the most effective neck-strengthening program by comparing a traditional and nontraditional program. Isometric neck strength was assessed in 32 subjects randomly assigned to one of the traditional and nontraditional neck-strengthening programs. The nontraditional program used a novel neck-strengthening device. After weeks 6 and 10 of training, isometric neck strength was reassessed. With the collected data, linear mixed models were established to compare the changes in neck strength between the 2 groups during the 10-week training period. Statistical analysis results suggest that, for both cervical extension (CE) and cervical flexion (CF), subjects in the novel neck-strengthening device group had a significantly higher gain of strength during the 10 weeks than the traditional group. With test statistics of −2.691 and −3.203 and corresponding 2-sided p-value of 0.01289 and 0.003889, respectively, we conclude that there is a statistically significant difference in the linear slopes of increase for both CE and CF between the 2 groups. As to left cervical lateral flexion and right cervical lateral flexion, the novel neck strength group had increased strength gains compared with the traditional group. However, the increase was not enough to demonstrate significant findings. Results were considered significant at p < 0.05. The results of this study show that the novel neck-strengthening device may be an effective mechanism for preventing mild TBIs.