Study Design: Case report. Objectives: To describe the use of manual therapy and muscle re-education for an individual with suspected cervicogenic headache. Background: This patient was a 27-year-old woman with complaint of headache. She was functionally limited with prolonged postures and lifting. She also demonstrated impairments in cervical mobility and muscular performance. Methods and Measures: This patient was treated 8 times over an 8-week period. Intervention included manual upper cervical spine mobilization techniques, muscle re-education for the deep neck flexor muscles, and scapular stabilization exercises. Results: Following treatment, the patient demonstrated an increase in cervical mobility, improved muscular performance, a decrease in headaches, and complete resolution of functional limitations.
Conclusion:The combination of manual therapy and muscle re-education was successful in relieving headaches and improving function in this patient. J Orthop Sport Phys Ther. 2003;33:21-30.
Upper extremity (UE) neurodynamic tests are used to examine neural tissue in patients with neuro-musculoskeletal disorders. Although comparisons between involved and uninvolved limbs are made clinically, minimal data exist reflecting the normal variation between sides. The purpose of this study was to determine if within-subject differences exist between limbs in the UE component of neurodynamic tests of the median, radial, and ulnar nerves. Sixty-one healthy subjects were examined. Difference between limbs for the median nerve-biased test was significant (right=16.4° ± 11.4°, left=20.1° ± 13.7°; p=0.045). There was no significant difference between limbs for the radial or ulnar nerve-biased tests. Correlation between limbs was poor for all tests (median r(2) =0.14; radial r(2) =0.20; ulnar r(2) =0.13). Lower-bound scores were calculated to determine the amount of difference needed to consider asymmetry beyond measurement error; the scores for each neurodynamic test were as follows: median 27°, radial 20°, and ulnar 21°. The results of this study show that between-limb values have low correlation and that it may be normal for an individual to have range of motion differences between limbs with neurodynamic tests.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.