Non-surgical relief of cervical radiculopathy through reduction of forward head posture and restoration of cervical lordosis: a case report.
Bret M Wickstrom, Paul A Oakley, Deed E Harrison
PMID 28878485WHAT IT FOUND
A 31-year-old male with right cervical radiculopathy reported complete alleviation of upper arm weakness and neck pain after 40 sessions over 17 weeks of extension exercises, extension traction, spinal manipulation, paraspinal stimulation, and home traction.
Key findings
01After 40 treatment sessions over 17 weeks, the patient reported complete alleviation of upper arm weakness and neck pain.
02After those 40 sessions, the patient scored 0% on the NBQ and had a cervical lordosis of -30.6° and forward head posture of -5.6 mm.
03At one-year follow-up with minimal treatment up to 2 times per month, the patient had no radiculopathy, a cervical lordosis of -19.5°, forward head posture of 0.5 mm, and a NBQ score of 10%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a case report of a single patient, so it cannot show that the treatment works for other people. The patient received several treatments at once, including extension exercises, extension traction, spinal manipulative therapy, paraspinal stimulation, and home Denneroll traction, so the contribution of any one component cannot be separated. The paper presents a single case, not a group of patients receiving different treatments. Follow-up was limited to one year, and the patient received minimal treatment up to 2 times per month during that follow-up. The authors state that the results warrant further study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that cervical extension traction or this multi-modal program reliably relieves cervical radiculopathy. This is a case report, and the patient received extension exercises, extension traction, spinal manipulative therapy, paraspinal stimulation, and home Denneroll traction together, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.