Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with whiplash injury

Abstract

This study investigated cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with whiplash injury and the effects of a rehabilitation programme. Fourteen patients with a whiplash injury and 34 healthy subjects participated in this study. The ability to appreciate both movement and the position of the head with respect to the trunk was investigated. Active head repositioning was significantly less precise in the whiplash subjects compared to the control group. Repositioning was more precise in whiplash subjects after the 5-week rehabilitation programme. There was no correlation between error of repositioning in patients and pain intensity. It is probable that cervicocephalic kinesthesia is linked to sensory information from the extensive muscular and articular proprioceptive system. A flexion-extension injury to the neck may result in dysfunction of this system.