Objective: We developed a protocol combining multi-muscle surface electromyography (sEMG) and kinematic analysis to characterise cervical muscle activity and head-neck-trunk movement patterns in CD after the col-cap model.
Background: Cervical dystonia (CD) is the most common focal dystonia, characterised by involuntary contractions of neck muscles leading to abnormal head postures and movements. Diagnosis and muscle selection for botulinum toxin (BoNT) therapy rely largely on clinical expertise. Objective measures that capture the complex head-neck-trunk dynamics of CD are limited.
Method: sEMG was recorded from 12 cervical muscles most commonly targeted for BoNT treatment in CD with simultaneous kinematic data from forehead, C5 and sternal sensors based upon the col-cap method. Participants completed a 20-minute recording derived from the standard movement examination. Preliminary analyses were carried out in 10 healthy controls and 8 patients with CD using a custom data processing pipeline. Spectral Arc Length (SPARC) was calculated as a surrogate for movement smoothness.
Results: Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests revealed a significant reduction in Spectral Arc Length (SPARC) across all three relative movement components during the cyclic head rotation task compared to baseline (W = -28; p = 0.016; n = 7 for all comparisons). Head-trunk demonstrated the largest median difference (-0.080 a.u.). Median maximum angular velocity was 212.2°/s for head-neck, 74.64°/s for neck-trunk and 238.3°/s for head-trunk.
Conclusion: This novel protocol enables simultaneous acquisition of multi-muscle sEMG and segmental head–neck–trunk kinematics after the col-cap model. This method aims to characterise the nature of dystonic movements in cervical dystonia, identify the relative contributions of cervical muscles, and provide objective quantification of dystonia severity.
References: Jost, W.H. and Tatu, L. (2015), Selection of Muscles for Botulinum Toxin Injections in Cervical Dystonia. Mov Disord Clin Pract, 2: 224-226. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.12172
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
O. Killian, S. Jimenez, A. Gill, C. Fearon, L. Williams, S. O'Riordan, M. Hutchinson, R. Reilly. A Novel paradigm for the recording of col-cap movements and muscle activity in Cervical Dystonia [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-novel-paradigm-for-the-recording-of-col-cap-movements-and-muscle-activity-in-cervical-dystonia/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-novel-paradigm-for-the-recording-of-col-cap-movements-and-muscle-activity-in-cervical-dystonia/