STUDY DESIGN Whiplash injury is a prevalent and often destructive injury of the cervical column, which can lead to serious neck pain. Many approaches have been suggested for the treatment of whiplash injury, including anti-inflammatory drugs, manipulation, supervised exercise, and cervical collars. Cervical collars are generally divided into two groups: soft and rigid collars. PURPOSE The pre...

Atlanto-axial subluxation occurs with a frequency varying from 6% to 45% in rheumatoid arthritis. Most patients are treated conservatively with a cervical collar. The effectiveness of different cervical collars in inhibiting anterior atlanto-axial subluxation was tested in 11 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis. None of the collars had any major influence in inhibiting anterior subluxa...

BACKGROUND Concern has been raised that cervical collars may increase intracranial pressure in traumatic brain injury. The purpose of this study was to compare four types of cervical collars regarding efficacy of immobilizing the neck, effect on jugular venous pressure (JVP), as a surrogate for possible effect on intracranial pressure, and patient comfort in healthy volunteers. METHODS The ch...

BACKGROUND Cervical collars are applied to millions of trauma victims with the intent of protecting against secondary spine injuries. Adverse clinical outcomes during the management of trauma patients led to the hypothesis that extrication collars may be harmful in some cases. The literature provides indirect support for this observation. The purpose of this study was to directly evaluate cervi...

CONTEXT When cervical spine injuries are suspected, the cervical spine should be immobilized in a neutral position and neck motion controlled in preparation for transport to an emergency facility. Protocols for emergency transport utilizing common devices (cervical collars) and methods (transfer techniques) during these procedures are not entirely evidence based. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION The medi...

Neck pain is one of the most prevalent and costly health problems in the United States. It remains a complex, subjective experience with a variety of musculoskeletal causes. Although, cervical collars are a seemingly benign intervention, they can have adverse effects, especially when used for longer periods of time. It is feared that a long period of immobilization, can result in atrophy-relate...

Cervical orthotic devices (cervical collars) are integral to the treatment of patients with suspected or confirmed fracture of the cervical spine. Pressure ulcers can develop under the cervical collar on the occipital protuberance and on the chin due to both prolonged immobilization and the collar construction. A multidisciplinary team at a Northwest Ohio trauma center led an investigation of t...

The analysis of current cervical collars (Aspen and Miami J collars) and cervical thoracic orthoses (CTOs) (Aspen 2-post and Aspen 4-post CTOs) in reducing cervical intervertebral and gross range of motion in flexion and extension was performed using 20 normal volunteer subjects. The gross sagittal motion of the head was measured relative to the horizon with the use of an optoelectronic motion ...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE The application of a cervical collar is a standard procedure in trauma patients in emergency medicine. It is often observed that cervical collars are applied incorrectly, resulting in reduced immobilization of the cervical spine. The objective of this study was to analyze the practical skills of trained professional rescue personnel concerning the application of cervical co...

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of soft, semirigid and hard cervical collars to immobilize the neck in a destabilized cadaver model. DESIGN This is a laboratory experiment. SETTING The anatomy research lab of McMaster University. PATIENTS None. Fresh cadavers from elderly patients suffering terminal medical illness and free of cervical structural disease were studied. INTERVENTIONS Des...