Muscular Response to Physiologic Tensile Stretch of the Caprine C5/6 Facet Joint Capsule: Dynamic Recruitment Thresholds and Latencies

This study examined the cervical muscle response to physiologic, high-rate (100 mm/s) tensile facet joint capsule (FJC) stretch. Six in-vivo caprine C5/6 FJC preparations were subjected to an incremental tensile loading paradigm. EMG activity was recorded from the right trapezius (TR) and multifidus (MF) muscle groups at the C5 and C6 levels; and from the sternomastoid (SM) and longus colli (LC) muscle groups bilaterally at the C5/6 level; during FJC stretch. Capsule load during the displacement applications was recorded via a miniature load cell, and 3D capsule strains (based on stereoimaging of an array of markers on the capsule surface) were reconstructed using finite element methods. EMG traces from each muscle were examined for onset of muscular activity. Capsule strains and loads at the time of EMG onset were recorded for each muscle, as was the time from the onset of FJC stretch to the onset of muscle activity. All muscles were responsive to physiologic high-rate FJC stretch. The deep muscles (MF and LC) were recruited at significantly smaller capsule loads and onset latencies than the superficial muscles (TR and SM). MF activation strain was significantly smaller than LC and TR activation strains. These data were also compared to previously published low-rate data. MF was the first muscle group to be recruited regardless of the activation criterion under consideration (i.e. strain, load, or latency) or the rate of FJC stretch. LC recruitment occurred significantly sooner under high-rate vs. low-rate FJC stretch. The results of this study provide further evidence of extensive ligamento-muscular reflex pathways between the FJC and the cervical musculature, which are responsive to both low-rate and high-rate FJC stretch. These data add to our knowledge of the dynamic response of paraspinal muscles relative to facet joint motion and provide a unique contribution to enhance the precision of computer-simulated impacts.