Association between sedentary behavior, physical activity, and neck pain, disability index, and cervical physiological function in university students: a cross-sectional study.

Sedentary behavior was significantly positively correlated with neck pain (VAS) and joint position sense errors in extension and right rotation.

• Cross-sectional study with 126 university student participants
• Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were used to examine associations
• Significant positive correlations were found between SB and VAS (neck pain), JPS-E (extension joint position sense), and JPS-RRot (right rotation joint position sense)
• Higher JPS error values indicate worse proprioceptive accuracy, meaning SB was associated with poorer cervical proprioception

Sedentary behavior was significantly negatively correlated with cervical range of motion in extension, left rotation, and right rotation.

• Significant negative correlations were found between SB and ROM-E (extension), ROM-LRot (left rotation), and ROM-RRot (right rotation)
• Negative correlations indicate that higher sedentary behavior was associated with reduced cervical mobility
• Objective measurements were used to evaluate cervical ROM
• Sample included 126 university students assessed via self-reported questionnaires for SB

Physical activity was negatively correlated with the Neck Disability Index and positively correlated with cervical flexor and extensor muscle strength.

• PA showed a significant negative correlation with NDI, indicating higher PA was associated with lower disability
• PA was positively correlated with cervical flexor strength (CFS) and cervical extensor strength (CES)
• PA levels were assessed via self-reported questionnaires
• Muscle strength was assessed through objective measurement in 126 participants

The High-SB & Low-PA group had significantly worse outcomes in NDI, right rotation ROM, extension JPS, and cervical extensor strength compared to other groups.

• Comparative analysis used ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests to compare differences between groups with varying SB and PA levels
• The High-SB & Low-PA group showed significantly worse NDI scores, ROM-RRot (right rotation range of motion), JPS-E (extension joint position sense error), and CES (cervical extensor strength)
• The combined effect of high SB and low PA exacerbated disability index and deteriorated cervical physiological function
• Participants were stratified into groups based on levels of SB and PA

Cervical health issues assessed included neck pain, disability, range of motion, joint position sense, muscle strength, and muscle endurance using both subjective and objective measures.

• Neck pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
• Disability was assessed using the Neck Disability Index (NDI)
• Objective measurements evaluated cervical ROM, joint position sense (JPS), muscle strength (MS), and muscle endurance (ME)
• SB and PA were assessed via self-reported questionnaires
• Total sample size was 126 university students in a cross-sectional design