Increasing chair recline during seated computer work may reduce the load placed on the upper trapezius (UT), a common location of pain for those with idiopathic chronic neck pain. This study determined the effect of increasing chair recline on UT stiffness and muscle activity during computer work in people with and without idiopathic chronic neck pain. Surface electromyography and ultrasound shear wave elastography were collected from three subdivisions of the UT in 15 individuals with idiopathic chronic neck pain and 15 sex-matched healthy controls. Participants sat in a standardized computer-work setup while chair recline (0°, 25°, 45°) and head and neck position (self-selected, neutral, flexed) were systematically adjusted and maintained for 2.5-min intervals. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were completed for each sex, muscle, and data type, with group (chronic neck pain, control), chair recline (0°,25°,45°), head and neck position (self-selected, flexed, neutral), and side of collected data (dominant, non-dominant) as fixed factors. Men with idiopathic chronic neck pain demonstrated greater UT stiffness in the cranial subdivision when compared to healthy men. Additionally, the 25° and 45° recline levels increased the stiffness of men's dominant UT compared to men's non-dominant UT. Women's UT was more affected by head and neck position, and a neutral head and neck position resulted in lower UT activation, but higher UT stiffness for the cranial subdivision and midway between C-7 and the acromion process. Overall, our findings suggest that the commonly suggested neutral position may not be a beneficial prompt when positioning someone during seated computer work.

坐着电脑工作时增加椅子的倾斜度可以减轻上斜方肌 (UT) 的负荷，上斜方肌是特发性慢性颈部疼痛患者常见的疼痛部位。这项研究确定了在患有或不患有特发性慢性颈部疼痛的人在计算机工作期间增加椅子倾斜度对 UT 僵硬和肌肉活动的影响。表面肌电图和超声剪切波弹性图是从 UT 的三个分区收集的 15 名特发性慢性颈部疼痛患者和 15 名性别匹配的健康对照者的表面肌电图和超声剪切波弹性图。参与者坐在标准化的计算机工作设置中，同时系统地调整椅子倾斜（0°、25°、45°）和头部和颈部位置（自行选择、中立、弯曲）并保持 2.5 分钟的间隔。对每种性别、肌肉和数据类型完成重复测量方差分析，包括组（慢性颈部疼痛，对照）、椅子倾斜度（0°、25°、45°）、头颈位置（自行选择、弯曲、中性）和收集数据的侧面（主导、非主导）作为固定因素。与健康男性相比，患有特发性慢性颈部疼痛的男性在颅骨细分中表现出更大的UT僵硬度。此外，与男性非主导 UT 相比，25° 和 45° 倾斜水平增加了男性主导 UT 的刚度。女性的 UT 更受头部和颈部位置的影响，中立的头部和颈部位置导致 UT 激活较低，但颅骨细分以及 C-7 和肩峰突中间的 UT 硬度较高。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，在坐着电脑工作时，通常建议的中立位置可能不是一个有益的提示。