The effect of different jaw positions on upper extremity performance, core endurance, and postural stability: A cross-sectional study

The jaw sensorimotor system has functional relationships with other parts of the body through neuroanatomical and biomechanical interactions. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of different jaw positions on upper extremity performance, core endurance, and postural stability. This cross-sectional study included 49 healthy young adults aged 18-28 years. Upper extremity performance was evaluated using the push-up test, core endurance was evaluated using the McGill’s Trunk Flexion and Extension Test and postural stability was evaluated using the Balance Error Scoring System. All assessments were made with resting jaw and clenching jaw positions. There was no significant difference in the Push-up test and Balance Error Scoring System scores in different jaw positions (p>0.05). The Mcgill trunk flexion test and extension test performance were found to be better in the clenched jaw position (p=0.017, p=0.035, respectively). The results of this study showed that jaw clenching increases core endurance time. This result should be taken into account when planning an evaluation and rehabilitation program for the core area

A comparison of quantitative parameters of axial posture and spinal mobility between motor subtypes of Parkinson’s disease

Background and purpose – Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder characterized by contradictory clinical outcomes among its several subtypes. The disease can manifest with a tremor-dominant (TD) or a non-tremordominant (NTD) phenotype. Although the TD subtype may show a better prognosis, there is limited information on the phenotypic differences regarding the level of axial symptoms. For this reason, in this study it was aimed to make a quantitative comparison of axial posture and spinal mobility between PD with TD and NTD. Methods – This case-control study was conducted on 94 patients with diagnosed PD. A group diagnosis approach was used in the study, such that the diagnosis of each patient was confirmed, and they were assigned to TD and NTD groups by a neurologist expert on movement disorders. Of the patients with PD, 61 were in the TD group, and 33 were in the NTD group. Spinal mouse was used to measure spinal posture and spinal mobility in both sagittal and frontal planes. Results – Two groups of 61 patients (25 male + 36 female) with TD-PD (mean age:\ud 64.49±10.37 years) and 33 patients (20 male +13 female) with NTD-PD (mean age: 63.45±9.11 years) were enrolled in the study. There were no significant differences between the patients with TD and NTD in terms of sagittal and frontal postures (p>0.05). In addition to this, anterior trunk tilt was found to significantly increase as the disease stage advanced in both groups. While the greatest anterior trunk tilt change in the TD-PD group was observed in the 3rd stage, NTD-PD group was in the 2.5th stage. Aside from this, the outcomes of the spinal mobility measurements in the frontal and sagittal planes were similar between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusion – It is widely acknowledged that many clinical aspects of the TD and NTD forms of PD differ; however, in our study, it was observed that there may be no difference in the axial symptoms of the patients with PD in terms of classification according to tremor dominance