Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with cervical pain

Head orientation in space makes use of multiple sensory afferents, among which the cervical proprioceptive cues could play a predominant role. To quantify the alteration of neck proprioception in patients with cervical pathology, we proposed a test for the clinical evaluation of the ability to relocate the head on the trunk after an active head movement, for 30 healthy subjects and 30 patients with cervical pain. The data demonstrated that this ability was significantly poorer in the patient group, indicating an alteration in neck proprioception. This test permits a discriminant classification of healthy and sick subjects, justifies proprioceptive rehabilitation programs, and allows a quantitative evaluation of their results.