Prolonged occupational sitting can induce fatigue in neck muscles, disrupting proprioceptive function and vestibular integration, thereby compromising neuromuscular coordination. These impairments may alter balance control mechanisms and shift inter-segmental stabilization strategies during walking, especially under varying gait demands....
No actionable change for audiology clinical practice; however, audiologists managing patients with combined vestibular and cervical complaints may note that occupational sitting posture can transiently affect vestibular-proprioceptive integration during gait.
Understanding how everyday sedentary behavior disrupts vestibular-proprioceptive integration during walking could inform multidisciplinary vestibular rehabilitation protocols.
- 01Prolonged desk sitting causes measurable neck muscle fatigue in sedentary individuals.
- 02Neck fatigue alters proprioceptive input, potentially disrupting vestibular integration during gait.
- 03Effects were assessed across multiple walking speeds, adding ecological validity.
- 04Published in European Journal of Applied Physiology (doi: 10.1007/s00421-026-06180-2).
- 05Findings are relevant to vestibular rehabilitation in patients with sedentary occupations.
A single session of prolonged occupational sitting induces neck muscle fatigue in sedentary individuals.
studysupportedNeck muscle fatigue from sitting impairs head stabilization strategies and vestibular integration during walking.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42191901
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00421-026-06180-2.
- Journal
- European Journal of Applied Physiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Sedentary individuals without specified vestibular pathology
- Intervention
- Single session of prolonged occupational sitting
- Comparator
- Baseline / pre-sitting condition
Primary outcomes
Neck muscle fatigue; Head stabilization strategies during walking; Vestibular integration at different walking speeds