Sporting activities often affect the optimal functionality of the human body and its organs. One area of functionality that is especially susceptible to the effects of sporting activities is motor control. Injuries that occur in the field or on the track allegedly alter various elements of motor control. The article, “Effects of Cervical Muscle Fatigue on the Perception of the Subjective Vertical and Horizontal,” authored by Guy Gosselin and Michael J. Fagan in 2014, proves this assertion by examining the findings of previous studies, which indicate those neck injuries alter some elements of an individual’s perception. This essay summarises the key issues that Gosselin and Fagan present in their article.
As already pointed out, the study in question examined the findings of related studies in a bid to agree or disagree with the growing body of evidence, which shows that neck injuries permanently alter the cervical functional capacity of an individual. Reportedly, after a neck injury, eye movement control, kinaesthetic sensitivity, and perceptual balance never return to their original state. Therefore, by conducting an empirical study that involved 74 participants who took various tests to determine how accurate their cervical functional capacities were under different circumstances, the authors of the article evaluated the validity of the existing evidence.
Gosselin and Fagan assumed that since several studies had established that neck injuries had a significant effect on cervical functional capacity, the claims were probably true. Therefore, they conducted their study using an advanced version of the equipment that was employed in previous studies. Their main concern was to either confirm the findings of previous studies or refute them. However, their position at the start of the study was that neck injuries have a bearing on the cervical functional capacity of an individual.
They then proceeded to recruit 74 healthy male individuals between ages 21 and 25 years. Their weight ranged between 83 and 95 kilograms and all of them were members of either a rugby or football team. All the participants took a C-RFT test in a sitting position and a standing position. The first test required participants to stand 2 meters away from a 183-centimetre dark screen and rotate a white dot around the imaginary centre of a square that appeared on the screen. In the second test, participants undertook the same procedure, but in a sitting position. After these tests, 56 of the participants volunteered to take another test. Their necks were subjected to induced isometric contractions to achieve neck-muscle fatigue. Therefore, with fatigued neck muscles, they took the two previous tests again.
The results of the two sets of tests showed notable differences. After being subjected to isometric neck-muscle contractions, there were bigger error margins in their estimation of the centre of the square on the screen. Thus, results from the individuals with fatigued neck muscles successfully proved those neck injuries could affect the cervical functional capacity of an individual.
Based on the study findings, the authors concluded that cervical problems such as neck injuries, as was demonstrated by fatiguing the neck muscles of some participants, have a significant influence on eye movement control, kinaesthetic sensitivity, and other perception related functions. Therefore, this study’s findings were consistent with the results of earlier studies, which had employed less advanced equipment. This consistency confirms that the authors’ assumptions were true. Since no identifiable instances of errors or shortcomings in the methodology were noted, no changes are deemed necessary in any aspect of the study.