Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with chronic, nontraumatic cervical spine pain

• Published in: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 82; no. 7; pp. 911 - 919
• Main Authors: Rix, George D., Bagust, Jeff
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.07.2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cervical vertebrae; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Diseases of the spine; Female; Head Movements - physiology; Humans; Kinesthesis; Kinesthesis - physiology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neck pain; Neck Pain - physiopathology; Neck Pain - rehabilitation; Proprioception; Proprioception - physiology; Prospective Studies; Range of Motion, Articular - physiology; Rehabilitation; Statistics, Nonparametric; Neck pain; Rehabilitation; Kinesthesis; Proprioception; Cervical vertebrae; Human; Motion; Chronic; Sensitivity; Pain; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Spine disease; Cervical spine
• ISSN: 0003-9993; 1532-821X
• DOI: 10.1053/apmr.2001.23300

Rix GD, Bagust J. Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with chronic, nontraumatic cervical spine pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82:911-9. Objective: To investigate cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility (head repositioning accuracy to subjective straight ahead) in patients with chronic, nontraumatic cervical spine pain. Design: A prospective, 2-group, observational design. Setting: An outpatient chiropractic clinic in the United Kingdom. Participants: Eleven patients (6 men, 5 women; mean age ± standard deviation, 41.1 ± 13.3yr; range, 18-55yr) with chronic, nontraumatic cervical spine pain (mean duration, 24 ± 18mo), with no evidence of cervical radiculopathy and/or myelopathy or any other neurologic disorder. Eleven asymptomatic, unimpaired volunteers (5 men, 6 women; mean age, 39.3 ± 10.3yr; range, 28-54yr) with no history of whiplash or other cervical spine injury or pain served as controls. Main Outcome Measures: Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility was investigated by testing the ability of blindfolded participants to relocate accurately the head on the trunk, to a subjective straight-ahead position, after a near-maximal active movement of the head in the horizontal or vertical plane. The active cervical range of motion and the duration and intensity of neck pain were also recorded. Results: Mann-Whitney U testing indicated that the patient (P) group was no less accurate in head repositioning than the control (C) group for all movement directions except flexion (median global positioning error [95% confidence interval], P = 5.7° [5.03-9.10], C = 4.2° [3.17-5.32]; p <.05). Conclusions: Nontraumatic neck pain patients show little evidence of impaired cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility. These results contrast with studies of chronic cervical pain patients in which the origin was not controlled or involved a cervical whiplash injury. © 2001 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation