EN | RU
EN | RU

Help Support

Back

Cervico-ocular reflex is increased in people with nonspecific neck pain

Cervico-ocular reflex is increased in people with nonspecific neck pain Cervico-ocular reflex is increased in people with nonspecific neck pain
Cervico-ocular reflex is increased in people with nonspecific neck pain Cervico-ocular reflex is increased in people with nonspecific neck pain

Neck pain is a widespread complaint. People experiencing neck pain often present an altered timing in contraction of cervical muscles. This altered afferent information elicits the cervico-ocular reflex (COR), which stabilizes the eye in response to trunk-to-head movements.

See All

Key take away

The cervico-ocular reflex is an ocular stabilization reflex that is elicited by rotation of the neck. It works in conjunction with the vestibulo-ocular reflex and the optokinetic reflex. The importance of both cervico-ocular reflex and vestibulo-ocular reflex is explained in this study. This is in special reference to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement.

Background

Neck pain is a widespread complaint. People experiencing neck pain often present an altered timing in contraction of cervical muscles. This altered afferent information elicits the cervico-ocular reflex (COR), which stabilizes the eye in response to trunk-to-head movements. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) elicited by the vestibulum is thought to be unaffected by afferent information from the cervical spine. The aim of the study was to measure the COR and VOR in people with nonspecific neck pain.

Method

This study utilized a cross-sectional design in accordance with the STROBE statement. An infrared eye-tracking device was used to record the COR and the VOR while the participant was sitting on a rotating chair in darkness. Eye velocity was calculated by taking the derivative of the horizontal eye position. Parametric statistics were performed.

Result

The mean COR gain in the control group (n=30) was 0.26 (SD=0.15) compared with 0.38 (SD=0.16) in the nonspecific neck pain group (n=37). Analyses of covariance were performed to analyze differences in COR and VOR gains, with age and sex as covariates. Analyses of covariance showed a significantly increased COR in participants with neck pain. The VOR between the control group, with a mean VOR of 0.67 (SD=0.17), and the nonspecific neck pain group, with a mean VOR of 0.66 (SD=0.22), was not significantly different. But, the measuring eye movements while the participant is sitting on a rotating chair in complete darkness is technically complicated.

Conclusion

This study suggests that people with nonspecific neck pain have an increased COR. The COR is an objective, non-voluntary eye reflex and an unaltered VOR. This study shows that an increased COR is not restricted to patients with traumatic neck pain.

Source:

Phys Ther. 2016 Aug;96(8):1190-5

Article:

Cervico-ocular Reflex Is Increased in People With Nonspecific Neck Pain

Authors:

Jurryt de Vries et al.

Comments (0)

You want to delete this comment? Please mention comment Invalid Text Content Text Content cannot me more than 1000 Something Went Wrong Cancel Confirm Confirm Delete Hide Replies View Replies View Replies en
Try: