Abstract
Pinsault N, Vuillerme N, Pavan P. Cervicocephalic relocation test to the neutral head
position: assessment in bilateral labyrinthine-defective and chronic, nontraumatic
neck pain patients.
Objective
To determine whether vestibular or cervical proprioceptive information influence the
cervicocephalic relocation test to the neutral head position, by comparing head repositioning
errors obtained in asymptomatic, unimpaired control subjects with those obtained in
bilateral labyrinthine-defective patients and chronic, nontraumatic neck pain patients.
Design
A group-comparison study.
Setting
University medical bioengineering laboratory.
Participants
Labyrinthine-defective patients (n=7; mean age ± SD, 67±15y), nontraumatic neck pain
patients (n=7; 56±9y), and asymptomatic, unimpaired control subjects (n=7; 64±12y).
Interventions
Participants were asked to relocate the head on the trunk, as accurately as possible,
after full active cervical rotation to the left and right sides. Ten trials were performed
for each rotation side.
Main Outcome Measures
Absolute and variable errors were used to assess accuracy and consistency of the repositioning,
respectively.
Results
No significant difference in repositioning errors was observed between labyrinthine-defective
patients and control subjects, whereas nontraumatic neck pain patients demonstrated
significantly increased absolute errors in horizontal and global components and higher
variable errors in horizontal component.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that the vestibular system is not involved in the performance
of the cervicocephalic relocation test to neutral head position, and further support
this test as a measure of cervical proprioceptive acuity.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
NHP (neutral head position)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Supported by the Ministère de l'Education Nationale, de la Recherche et de la Technologie, France.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
