Todays Spotlight Article
THE TREATMENT OF CERVICAL DYSTONIA BY MANIPULATION OF THE CERVICAL SPINE: A STUDY OF BRAIN HEMISPHERICITY, PATIENT ATTRIBUTES, AND DYSTONIA CHARACTERISTICS
Objective: To identify and compare diagnostic and therapeutic criteria specific to the manipulative management of cervical dystonia, utilizing a model of brain hemisphericity.
THE TREATMENT OF CERVICAL DYSTONIA BY MANIPULATION OF THE CERVICAL SPINE: A STUDY OF BRAIN HEMISPHERICITY, PATIENT ATTRIBUTES, AND DYSTONIA CHARACTERISTICSby Frederick R. Carrick, D.C., Ph.D., D.A.C.A.N., D.A.B.C.N., D.A.C.N.B., F.A.C.C.N.
Objective: To identify and compare diagnostic and therapeutic criteria specific to the manipulative management of cervical dystonia, utilizing a model of brain hemisphericity.
Design: Independent variables of patient attributes and dystonia characteristics were compared to brain hemisphericity and clinical outcomes after manipulation of the cervical spine.
Setting: Institutional Clinic
Participants: Adult volunteers
Intervention: 111 subjects with cervical dystonia underwent cervical manipulation based upon a brain hemisphericity model and were compared to other treatment and non-treatment groups of dystonic suffers.
Main Outcome Measures: Logistic regression was chosen as the statistical method to explore the research questions.
Results: There was no significant relationship between many of the independent variables associated with cervical dystonia that would allow the clinician to predict the outcomes of cervical manipulation. There is a significant relationship between the side of decreased cortical hemisphericity and both the side of non-spastic pyramidal paresis and the side of dystonia. Cervical manipulation was found to decrease pain, tremor and spasticity and increase a range of motion in the dystonic sufferer.
