Utility of a brief assessment tool developed from the Dizziness Handicap Inventory to screen for Cervicogenic dizziness: A case control study.

BACKGROUND: Cervicogenic dizziness (CGD) is hard to diagnose as there is no objective test. OBJECTIVE: Can a brief assessment tool be derived from the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) to assist in screening for CGD? DESIGN: Case-control study with split-sample analysis. METHOD: 86 people with CGD and 86 people with general dizziness completed the DHI as part of the assessment of their dizziness. Descriptive statistics were used to assess how frequently each question on the DHI was answered 'yes' or 'sometimes' by participants with CGD and by participants with general dizziness. The questions that best discriminated between GCD and general dizziness were compiled into a brief assessment tool for CGD. Data from 80 participants (40 from each group) were used to generate a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to establish a cut-off score for that brief assessment tool. Then, data from the remaining 92 participants were used to try to validate the diagnostic ability of the brief assessment tool using that cut-off score. RESULTS: Questions 1, 9 and 11 were the most discriminatory and were combined to form the brief assessment tool. The ROC curve indicated an optimal threshold of 9. The diagnostic ability of the brief assessment tool among the remaining 46 participants from each group was: sensitivity 77% (95% CI: 67 to 84), specificity 66% (56-75), positive likelihood ratio 2.28 (1.66-3.13), and negative likelihood ratio 0.35 (0.23-0.53). CONCLUSION: A brief assessment tool of three questions appears to be helpful in screening for CGD.

Manual therapy for cervicogenic dizziness: Long-term outcomes of a randomised trial.

Manual therapy is effective for reducing cervicogenic dizziness, a disabling and persistent problem, in the short term. This study investigated the effects of sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) and passive joint mobilisations (PJMs) on cervicogenic dizziness compared to a placebo at 12 months post-treatment. Eighty-six participants (mean age 62 years, standard deviation (SD) 12.7) with chronic cervicogenic dizziness were randomised to receive SNAGs with self-SNAGs (n = 29), PJMs with range-of-motion (ROM) exercises (n = 29), or a placebo (n = 28) for 2-6 sessions over 6 weeks. Outcome measures were dizziness intensity, dizziness frequency (rated between 0 [none] and 5 [>once/day]), the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), pain intensity, head repositioning accuracy (HRA), cervical spine ROM, balance, and global perceived effect (GPE). At 12 months both manual therapy groups had less dizziness frequency (mean difference SNAGs vs placebo -0.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.3, -0.2, p = 0.01; PJMs vs placebo -0.7, -1.2, -0.1, p = 0.02), lower DHI scores (mean difference SNAGs vs placebo -8.9, 95% CI -16.3, -1.6, p = 0.02; PJMs vs placebo -13.6, -20.8, -6.4, p < 0.001) and higher GPE compared to placebo, whereas there were no between-group differences in dizziness intensity, pain intensity or HRA. There was greater ROM in all six directions for the SNAG group and in four directions for the PJM group compared to placebo, and small improvements in balance for the SNAG group compared to placebo. There were no adverse effects. These results provide evidence that both forms of manual therapy have long-term beneficial effects in the treatment of chronic cervicogenic dizziness.

Effects of cervical spine manual therapy on range of motion, head repositioning, and balance in participants with cervicogenic dizziness: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the effects of 2 manual therapy interventions on cervical spine range of motion (ROM), head repositioning accuracy, and balance in patients with chronic cervicogenic dizziness. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with 12-week follow-up using blinded outcome assessment. SETTING: University School of Health Sciences. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=86; mean age ± SD, 62.0 ± 12.7 y; 50% women) with chronic cervicogenic dizziness. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) with self-SNAG exercises, passive joint mobilization (PJM) with ROM exercises, or a placebo. Participants each received 2 to 6 treatments over 6 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cervical ROM, head repositioning accuracy, and balance. RESULTS: SNAG therapy resulted in improved (P ≤.05) cervical spine ROM in all 6 physiological cervical spine movement directions immediately posttreatment and at 12 weeks. Treatment with PJM resulted in improvement in 1 of the 6 cervical movement directions posttreatment and 1 movement direction at 12 weeks. There was a greater improvement (P<.01) after SNAGs than PJM in extension (mean difference, -7.5°; 95% confidence interval [CI], -13° to -2.0°) and right rotation (mean difference, -6.8°; 95% CI, -11.5° to -2.1°) posttreatment. Manual therapy had no effect on balance or head repositioning accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: SNAG treatment improved cervical ROM, and the effects were maintained for 12 weeks after treatment. PJM had very limited impact on cervical ROM. There was no conclusive effect of SNAGs or PJMs on joint repositioning accuracy or balance in people with cervicogenic dizziness.

Comparison of mulligan sustained natural apophyseal glides and maitland mobilizations for treatment of cervicogenic dizziness: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is short-term evidence for treatment of cervicogenic dizziness with Mulligan sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) but no evidence for treatment with Maitland mobilizations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of SNAGs and Maitland mobilizations for cervicogenic dizziness. DESIGN: A double-blind, parallel-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted. SETTING: The study was conducted at a university in Newcastle, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-six people with cervicogenic dizziness were the study participants. INTERVENTIONS: Included participants were randomly allocated to receive 1 of 3 interventions: Mulligan SNAGs (including self-administered SNAGs), Maitland mobilizations plus range-of-motion exercises, or placebo. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measure was intensity of dizziness. Other outcome measures were: frequency of dizziness, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), intensity of pain, and global perceived effect (GPE). RESULTS: Both manual therapy groups had reduced dizziness intensity and frequency posttreatment and at 12 weeks compared with baseline. There was no change in the placebo group. Both manual therapy groups had less dizziness intensity posttreatment (SNAGs: mean difference=-20.7, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]=-33.6, -7.7; mobilizations: mean difference=-15.2, 95% CI=-27.9, -2.4) and at 12 weeks (SNAGs: mean difference=-18.4, 95% CI=-31.3, -5.4; mobilizations: mean difference=-14.4, 95% CI=-27.4, -1.5) compared with the placebo group. Compared with the placebo group, both the SNAG and Maitland mobilization groups had less frequency of dizziness at 12 weeks. There were no differences between the 2 manual therapy interventions for these dizziness measures. For DHI and pain, all 3 groups improved posttreatment and at 12 weeks. Both manual therapy groups reported a higher GPE compared with the placebo group. There were no treatment-related adverse effects lasting longer than 24 hours. LIMITATIONS: The therapist performing the interventions was not blind to group allocation. CONCLUSIONS: Both SNAGs and Maitland mobilizations provide comparable immediate and sustained (12 weeks) reductions in intensity and frequency of chronic cervicogenic dizziness.

Efficacy of manual therapy treatments for people with cervicogenic dizziness and pain: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Cervicogenic dizziness is a disabling condition characterised by postural unsteadiness that is aggravated by cervical spine movements and associated with a painful and/or stiff neck. Two manual therapy treatments (Mulligan's Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides (SNAGs) and Maitland's passive joint mobilisations) are used by physiotherapists to treat this condition but there is little evidence from randomised controlled trials to support their use. The aim of this study is to conduct a randomised controlled trial to compare these two forms of manual therapy (Mulligan glides and Maitland mobilisations) to each other and to a placebo in reducing symptoms of cervicogenic dizziness in the longer term and to conduct an economic evaluation of the interventions. METHODS: Participants with symptoms of dizziness described as imbalance, together with a painful and/or stiff neck will be recruited via media releases, advertisements and mail-outs to medical practitioners in the Hunter region of NSW, Australia. Potential participants will be screened by a physiotherapist and a neurologist to rule out other causes of their dizziness. Once diagnosed with cervciogenic dizziness, 90 participants will be randomly allocated to one of three groups: Maitland mobilisations plus range-of-motion exercises, Mulligan SNAGs plus self-SNAG exercises or placebo. Participants will receive two to six treatments over six weeks. The trial will have unblinded treatment but blinded outcome assessments. Assessments will occur at baseline, post-treatment, six weeks, 12 weeks, six months and 12 months post treatment. The primary outcome will be intensity of dizziness. Other outcome measures will be frequency of dizziness, disability, intensity of cervical pain, cervical range of motion, balance, head repositioning, adverse effects and treatment satisfaction. Economic outcomes will also be collected. DISCUSSION: This paper describes the methods for a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of two manual therapy techniques in the treatment of people with cervicogenic dizziness for which there is limited established evidence-based treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12611000073909.

Sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) are an effective treatment for cervicogenic dizziness.