Prevalence of Cervicalgia Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Active-Duty Service Members: Implications for...

OBJECTIVES: To (1) determine the prevalence of cervicalgia within 90 days of a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) among active-duty service members, and (2) describe associated demographic and clinical characteristics relevant to physical therapy management. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Deidentified personnel and medical encounter data from the Military Assessment and Readiness System (2016-2024) were analyzed. Service members were identified using ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) codes for initial encounter of mTBI. Cervicalgia (M54.2) was classified as pre-existing (≤90 days pre-mTBI) or incident (≤90 days post-mTBI). Prevalence and clinical characteristics were compared by cervicalgia. RESULTS: Among 71 176 service members diagnosed with mTBI, 18.4% had cervicalgia within 90 days of injury (7.3% pre-existing; 11.1% incident). Cervicalgia clustered temporally around mTBI (mean: 29 days preinjury, 24 days postinjury). Compared with those without cervicalgia, affected service members had a higher prevalence of posttraumatic headache (16.1% vs 6.2%) and postconcussion syndrome (18.8% vs 11.0%), longer time in service, and greater deployment exposure. CONCLUSION: Nearly 1 in 5 service members diagnosed with mTBI had cervicalgia documented in close temporal proximity to injury. Cervicalgia was associated with greater postconcussive symptom burden. JOSPT Open 2026;4(3):297-303. Epub 4 May 2026. doi:10.2519/josptopen.2026.0219.