Cervical extension traction as part of a multimodal rehabilitation program relieves whiplash-associated disorders in a patient having failed previous chiropractic treatment: a CBP® case report

Abstract

[Purpose] To present the case of the non-surgical restoration of cervical lordosis in a patient suffering from chronic whiplash syndrome including chronic neck pain and daily headaches resulting from previous whiplash. [Subject and Methods] A 31 year old female presented with a chief complaint of chronic neck pain and headaches for 12 years, correlating temporally with a sustained whiplash. These symptoms were not significantly relieved by previous chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. The patient had cervical hypolordosis and was treated with Chiropractic BioPhysics^® protocol including extension exercises, manual adjustments and cervical extension traction designed to increase the cervical lordosis. [Results] The patient received 30 treatments over approximately 5-months. Upon re-assessment, there was a significant increase in global C2-C7 lordosis, corresponding with the reduction in neck pain and headaches. [Conclusion] This case adds to the accumulating evidence that restoring lordosis may be key in treating chronic whiplash syndrome. We suggest that patients presenting with neck pain and/or headaches with cervical hypolordosis be treated with a program of care that involves cervical extension traction methods to restore the normal cervical lordosis.

Keywords: Cervical hypolordosis; Extension traction; Whiplash associated disorder.

Fig. 1.

Neutral lateral cervical radiographs. Left: Initial (4/4/17) showing cervical absolute rotation angle hypolordosis of −18.8° between C2–C7. Right: Follow-up (8/28/17) showing restoration of normal lordosis (−32.1°) after 30 treatment sessions. Green line represents ideal 42° curve; Red line highlights patient position.

Fig. 2.

Pope 2-way cervical extension traction.

Fig. 3.

Cervical mirror image extension exercises.