The activity of muscles during motion in one direction should be symmetrical when compared to the activity of the contralateral muscles during motion in the opposite direction, while symmetrical movements should result in symmetrical muscle activation. The literature lacks data on the symmetry of neck muscle activation. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the activity of the upper trapezius (UT) and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles at rest and during basic motions of the neck and to determine the symmetry of the muscle activation. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was collected from UT and SCM bilaterally during rest, maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and six functional movements from 18 participants. The muscle activity was related to the MVC, and the Symmetry Index was calculated. The muscle activity at rest was 23.74% and 27.88% higher on the left side than on the right side for the UT and SCM, respectively. The highest asymmetries during motion were for the SCM for the right arc movement (116%) and for the UT in the lower arc movement (55%). The lowest asymmetry was recorded for extension-flexion movement for both muscles. It was concluded that this movement can be useful for assessing the symmetry of neck muscles' activation. Further studies are required to verify the above-presented results, determine muscle activation patterns and compare healthy people to patients with neck pain.
Keywords: cervical spine; sternocleidomastoid; surface electromyography; symmetry; upper trapezius.