Smart Neck-Band for Rehabilitation of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are the second leading cause of disability and one-fifth of adults worldwide have been reporting about neck pain annually. Accidents, sudden jolts, poor posture, prolonged immobilization, and other chronic diseases are among the major causes of MSD. The main objective of this research is to support therapists in the rehabilitation of neck musculoskeletal disorders. We present a Smart Neck Band embedded with Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU), and associated applications that analyze the sensor data to provide valuable insights into the condition or progress of the MSD. Patients can use the neck band to monitor the improvement during the period of the therapy and during regular exercises recommended post-therapy. The flexibility and range of motion of the neck region can be self-assessed and the entire process of rehabilitation can be digitally recorded for further analysis. For the research presented in this paper, eight subjects participated voluntarily. Among them, one subject was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis. During the experimental study, the Smart Neck-Band was used to track and record the movements of the neck using inbuilt accelerometer and gyroscope sensors. The data generated by the sensors represent the kinematics of the neck movement. Using this kinematic data, the Neck Range of Motion (NROM) can be calculated for movement assessment during therapy. The kinematic data can be analyzed further using the OpenSim simulation tool to get more insights into the musculoskeletal aspects of cervical dysfunction. The OpenSim tool generates kinetic data for the corresponding kinematic data captured by the Smart Neck-Band. Kinetic data generated by OpenSim includes muscle action, force, power, velocity, etc. The Smart Neck-Band enables the integrated analysis of kinematic and kinetic data, providing innovative technology for effective rehabilitation of neck MSD. The experimental results of this research show that the Smart Neck-Band with OpenSim analysis have great potential in the efficient treatment and management of musculoskeletal disorders of the Neck.