Bi-lateral measurement of rotation of the cervical spine in motorcyclists to compare left and right degrees of rotation, with regards to the “Lifesaver manoeuvre”

Item

Title
Bi-lateral measurement of rotation of the cervical spine in motorcyclists to compare left and right degrees of rotation, with regards to the “Lifesaver manoeuvre”
Author(s)
Carlin, M
Abstract
The project undertaken was to investigate whether using a motorcycle as the main mode of transport over an extended period of time has a physiological effect on the cervical spine of the musculoskeletal system as expressed in range of motion (ROM) in rotation. It was hypothesized that the longer the timespan of being a full time motorcyclist, the larger the ROM will become in the cervical spine due to an action known as the “lifesaver manoeuvre” (LM). The “lifesaver” is a last check over the shoulder into the blind spot to make sure nothing unexpected is happening before a motorcyclist commits themselves to a manoeuvre. If turning, it is used to check the blind the spot on the side to which the motorcyclist intends to turn. In congested urban situations a lifesaver check is essential, particularly when turning right into a minor road. (Driving Standards Agency (Great Britain) & Learning Materials Section, 2012) 110 subjects were recruited. This consisted of 78 full time motorcyclists (MC) and 32 non motorcyclists (Non MC) used as the control group. All subjects were male with an age range between 21 – 77 years. The motorcyclists had to have at least 1 year’s experience of riding full time for their work to be considered for this study. Another inclusion factor was style of motorcycle used. To ensure that the study was focused on rotation of the neck and no other factors, riders of motorcycles with a ‘sit up and beg’ riding position only were used. This style of motorcycle constitutes a more natural sitting position. The legs are flexed at the hips and knees at just under 90°. The trunk is vertical with the head in its natural position, giving rise to the use of rotation when doing the lifesaver manoeuvre (LM).Exclusion factors included: have no acute cervical pain; have no known chronic cervical problems; have never had severe trauma to the cervical/head region and have had no accidents in the previous 18 months. Any form of bike with ‘dropped’ handles (racing style bike that is aerodynamically designed for speed and handling) was ruled out, as this automatically places the riders head into an extended position, leading to the use of extension and sidebending as well as rotation when performing the lifesaver. The subjects were initially asked to fulfill a “fit for research”. If all requirements were fulfilled, they had their cervical rotation measured using the CROM apparatus. The results were analysed using, Analyse-it version 3.53.5. The results were analysed using the F-test for equality of variance, Shapiro Wilk for normality of distribution, and, depending on the results of these, with the paired t-test for probability (motorcyclists only - parametric) and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test (motorcyclists vs. control – non parametric).
presented at
European School of Osteopathy
Date Accepted
2014
Date Submitted
20.1.2015 16:43:39
Type
osteo_thesis
Language
English
Submitted by:
62
Pub-Identifier
15487
Inst-Identifier
1229
Keywords
Motorcycle, CROM, Cervical spine
Recommended
0
Item sets
Thesis

Carlin, M, “Bi-lateral measurement of rotation of the cervical spine in motorcyclists to compare left and right degrees of rotation, with regards to the “Lifesaver manoeuvre””, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/677