Sequencing and Integration of Cervical Manual Therapy and Vestibulo-oculomotor Therapy for Concussion Symptoms: Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND: After concussion many people have cervicogenic headache, visual dysfunction, and vestibular deficits that can be attributed to brain injury, cervical injury, or both. While clinical practice guidelines outline treatments to address the symptoms that arise from the multiple involved systems, no preferred treatment sequence for post-concussion syndrome has emerged. PURPOSE: This study sought to describe the clinical and patient-reported outcomes for people with post-concussion symptoms after a protocol sequenced to address cervical dysfunction and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo within the first three weeks of injury, followed by integrated vision and vestibular therapy. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis METHODS: Records from a concussion clinic for 38 patients (25 male 13 female, aged 26.9±19.7 years) with post-concussion symptoms due to sports, falls, assaults, and motor vehicle accident injuries were analyzed. Musculoskeletal, vision, and vestibular system functions were assessed after pragmatic treatment including early cervical manual therapy and canalith repositioning treatment—when indicated—integrated with advanced vision and vestibular rehabilitation. Patient-reported outcomes included the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) for general symptoms; and for specific symptoms, the Dizziness Handicap Index (DHI), Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Scale (CISS), Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC), and the Brain Injury Vision Symptom Survey (BIVSS). Paired t-tests with Bonferroni correction to minimize familywise error (p<0.05) were used to analyze the clinical and patient-reported outcomes. RESULTS: After 10.4±4.8 sessions over 57.6±34.0 days, general symptoms improved on the PCSS (p=0.001, 95%CI=12.4-30.6); and specific symptoms on the DHI (p<0.001, 95%CI=14.5-33.2), CISS (p<0.002, 95%CI=7.1-18.3), ABC (p<0.024, 95%CI=-.3 - -.1), and BIVSS (p<0.001, 95%CI=13.4-28.0). Clinical measures improved including cervical range-of-motion (55.6% fully restored), benign paroxysmal positional vertigo symptoms (28/28, fully resolved), Brock string visual convergence (p<0.001, 95%CI=3.3-6.3), and score on the Balance Error Scoring System (p<0.001, 95%CI=5.5-11.6). CONCLUSION: A rehabilitation approach for post-concussion syndrome that sequenced cervical dysfunction and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo treatment within the first three weeks of injury followed by integrated vision and vestibular therapy improved clinical and patient-reported outcomes. Level of Evidence: 2b