European Spine Journal

to Publish CBP® Research

 

By Deed E. Harrison, D.C.

In the October, 2000, we received word from the editor of the European Spine Journal that one of our cervical spine research projects had received final acceptance and would be published in 2001. This manuscript is entitled “Slight Head Extension: Does it Change the Sagittal Cervical Curve?” by Harrison DE, Harrison DD, Janik TJ, Holland B, and Siskin LA.

      This project has immediate application to clinical practice, radiology reports, and third party pay situations. In Chiropractic, academicians, Radiologists, and IMEs have claimed for three decades that slight head flexion on the lateral cervical view will cause a kyphotic configuration of the cervical spine. Accordingly, if on the pre treatment x-ray, a cervical kyphosis is present with slight head flexion and on the post treatment x-ray a cervical lordosis is present but the head is neutral, then it is believed that the apparent improvement in cervical lordosis is due only to a patient positioning error. This idea has been used to negate pre and post lateral cervical x-ray corrections and the obvious injury to the cervical spine (buckling) after whiplash accidents when the post-whiplash lateral cervical has slight flexion of the head and a kyphotic configuration.

      When our CBP®¨ research project appears in 2001 in the European Spine Journal, clinicians will be able to provide evidence to counteract IME claims about slight head flexion on the pre-treatment x-ray being the sole cause of cervical kyphosis in a particular patient. This should have some impact on pre and post x-ray outcomes, report writing, and court appearances.

      We are very excited to be published in such a prestigious journal. CBP®¨ researchers are among the first Chiropractors to be published in this Index Medicus journal. CBP®¨ research has now been published/accepted at Spine, JMPT, Journal of Spinal Disorders, Clinical Biomechanics, Journal of Orthopaedic Research, European Spine Journal, and Chiropractic Technique.