The Effect of a Soft Collar, Used as Normally Recommended or Reversed, on Three Planes of Cervical Range of Motion

A Comparison of Neck Movement in the Soft Cervical Collar and Rigid Cervical Brace in Healthy Subjects

“…27 The cervical brace restricted flexion to 7.6°, but the soft collar allowed 39.7°and failed to restrict movement in the sagittal plane sufficiently to prevent any of the functional tasks described above. 26 These are similar findings as to those found by Johnson et al 28 It follows that the soft cervical collar failed to prevent a substantial proportion of neck movement and therefore appears to have no place in the severely injured neck that requires stabilization. As Muzin et al suggest, 29 there is controversy surrounding collar use to treat whiplash patients, rigid braces may have a role for acute management of traumatic cervical injuries such as fractures, and more studies are needed to best match orthoses with patient conditions.…”

“…23 Although both orthoses reduced neck movement in this study, the amount by which the soft cervical collar immobilized the neck was clinically not substantial because many routine daily tasks require only 30% to 50% of full neck movement. 26 The soft cervical collar allowed a mean of 82.6% of full neck range and therefore did not immobilize the neck sufficiently to prevent the movements associated with routine acts of daily living. By contrast, the rigid cervical brace permitted a mean of 37.1% of full neck range, which would limit such movements as tying shoe laces, reversing a car, and washing hair in the shower.…”

Traumatic atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation in an adolescent: a case report

“…It has been shown that wearing soft collars produces less motion of the cervical spine in conscious patients [17], even though it would work more likely as a reminder to the patient to restrict his or her own motion [18]. This is especially important to avoid the critical end range rotation.…”

Early Secondary Neurologic Deterioration After Blunt Spinal Trauma: A Review of the Literature

“…Although researchers have investigated the effectiveness of immobilization methods and devices, the adverse effects of their use, and the frequency of spinal injury among various cohorts and mechanisms, no study to date has comprehensively reviewed the published literature for cases of secondary neurologic deterioration during the early stages of care. We performed a structured review to identify any reports of this event within the English‐language literature as of January 2015 and describe their frequency, characteristics, and associated risk factors.…”