Early mobilisation of patients with cervical cord injury using the halo brace device

The halo brace device for cervical spine stabilisation has been in use predominantly in North America since 1959. It has not yet found widespread use for the management of the spinal cord injured in the UK. At the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Unit we have used the device over 2 years on 20 patients with complete and incomplete traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries, and compared our results with those for the previous 20 patients with similar injuries treated with skull calipers and bed rest. Patients using a halo brace device begin more active rehabilitation earlier as they are mobilised on average 5 weeks earlier than those whose traction is administered via skull calipers. Halo brace patients begin weekend leave usually within 7 weeks of their injury compared to 14 weeks post-injury for caliper treated patients and were discharged on average 2 months earlier than the comparison group. We believe that earlier mobilisation, weekend leave and discharge for halo brace patients in the absence of any neurological deterioration afford significant physical, psychological and management benefits.