The Cervical Lordotic Curve

The cervical lordosis works in tandem with the thoracic and lumbar curves to form a support and energy modulating system in the human frame. It is the head and cervical portion of the spinal column that is the subject of this paper as it relates to the Cervigard neck protection device. The normal cervical lordotic curve can be closely modeled with a circle described as a smooth arc of circular proportions from the atlas vertebra to the seventh cervical vertebra. A normal range of 56-69 degrees was determined by use of the Dalmas Index.

This cervical lordotic curve will have direct effects on the entire spine when its shape is permanently altered by forces that straighten out the curve. One such force is chronic forward head posture. This loss of proper curvature seen with Forward Head Posture (FHP) leads to long term muscle strain, disc herniations, arthritis, and pinched nerves. With the mass of population using electronic devices that induce the FHP condition the long term effect is to cause a pandemic increase of neck pain. Neck pain is associated with permanent joint damage to the cervical spine as well as back pain, fibromyalgia, headaches and possibly many other conditions.

The cervical vertebrae are designed by nature to be in a forward arc. When looking at the cervical lordosis the anterior vertebral bodies experience a tension force and the posterior vertebral bodies experience a compressive body force when compared to the ventral portion. Viewing the trabecular bone formation of the C3 through C7 segments there is an increased density of the trabecular pattern posteriorly, which would better support the compressive loading at a concave portion of natural lordosis (Figure 2). The entire vertebral body has vertical columns but the posterior areas have additional oblique columns that reveal a sturdier support structure. This posterior portion needs to withstand the increase compressive loading on the concave side of the lordotic arc. When the neck is straightened, the compressive loading transfers to the anterior portion of the body of the vertebra where the bone is less dense. If this becomes a chronic posture, bone and ligament deformation remodeling will occur over time to produce the pain described in this document. FHP is sometimes referred to as Text Neck. Text neck occurs when looking down at an electronic devise like a computer, smart phone, tablet, or smart watch. This posture can be mitigated with the use of the Cervigard Neck Protection Device.

Clinical Usage

The chronic breakdown of the cervical curve will result in segmental dysfunction of one or more of the vertebral units. Sometimes this is so severe that clinical intervention is needed. One form of treatment is to repair the proper alignment. Reparation of the cervical lordosis can be observed by the clinician utilizing the features of this neck collar. The FHP displacement can be corrected by adjusting the head positon so that the ears are more aligned over the shoulders. This will reduce the loads on the anterior portion of the vertebrae and upper thoracic spine. Secondly, after later cervical x-rays are taken to identify misaligned vertebral segments, fulcrum supports located at the posterior portion of the collar can be used to induce the forward translation force to “push” the vertebra back into a more normal cervical lordosis (Figure 3) the fulcrum at the rear of the collar positioned at the identified cervical vertebra in this example.

The patient will wear this device 20 minutes or more per day to create repositioning of misaligned vertebra and remodeling of soft tissues over time to a more normal alignment. This process is similar to the utilization of dental braces to realign teeth. The big difference of course is it requires much less time and cost.