Original scientific paper
Impairment of Proprioception After Whiplash Injury
Melita Uremović
Selma Cvijetić
Marija Bošnjak Pašić
Vesna Šerić
Branka Vidrih
Vida Demarin
Abstract
Whiplash injury usually occurs in traffic accidents. Persons experienced this injury might have an impairment of
proprioception clinically expressed as inability to determine the exact position of their heads. The aim of this study was to
examine the loss of proprioception in people who had a whiplash injury. The study included 60 subjects with cervical
spine injury, aged 20 to 50 years and 60 healthy volunteers matched by sex and age. The instrument used for cervical
spine mobility assessment was the Cervical Measurement System (CMS), which determines the ability of subjects to return
their head in the exact position as it was before they turned it 30 degrees left or right. Patients with cervical spine injury
showed significant impairment of proprioception in comparison with healthy subjects (P<0.001). The results support
the hypothesis that subject with recent cervical spine injury have incorrect perception of their head position. Therefore,
their rehabilitation should include the correction of proprioception and head coordination.
Keywords
whiplash injuryM; proprioception; standard measurements of cervical spine mobility (CMS); rehabilitation of cervical spine injury
Hrčak ID:
26897
URI
Publication date:
3.9.2007.
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