The effectiveness of soft and semi-rigid cervical collars on acute cervical radiculopathy

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 16 - 25, 04.01.2018

Meliha Kasapoğlu Aksoy , Lale Altan Altuğ Güner

https://doi.org/10.18621/eurj.332251

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Objectives. Cervical radiculopathy is one of the common causes of
the neck pain. Medical devices in the form of cervical collars are frequently
recommended in acute cervical radiculopathy. We aim to investigate and compare
the effect of soft and semi-rigid cervical collars on neck pain, disability and
daily life activities in the patients with acute cervical radiculopathy. Methods.
We designed a prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled study. This
study was conducted on 101 patients who were diagnosed with clinical features
of radiculopathy and imaging showing cervical disc herniation. Visual Analog
Scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and SF-36 were applied to the
subjects. Evaluation of the patients was done before
the treatment and 2 weeks and 6 weeks after the start of the treatment. Patients
were divided into three groups according to the computer-generated
randomization table: Soft cervical collar, semi-rigid cervical collar and
control group. The patients in collar groups were asked to wear the collars for
8 hours during the day for the first 2 weeks. Results. Comparison of the soft
cervical collar group with the control group showed significantly better
improvement in the former in VAS and NDI scores at week 2 and 6 (p < 0.05), in SF-36 pain perception
subunit at week 2 (p < 0.05), and
in SF-36 physical component score at week 6 (p < 0.05). Comparison of the semi-rigid cervical collar group
with the control showed significantly better improvement in the former for NDI
scores and SF-36 pain perception subunit at week 2 and 6 (p < 0.05). Conclusions.
The results of
our study have indicated that the use of soft and semi-rigid cervical collars
was more effective than conservative treatment in treatment of neck pain and
disability in acute cervical radiculopathy in the short term. Soft cervical collars
were also found to be more effective for pain management than semi-rigid cervical
collars. 

Keywords

Acute cervical radiculopathy, cervical collar, neck disability

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