Open-design Collar Vs. Conventional Philadelphia Collar Regarding User Satisfaction and Cervical Range of Motion in Asymptomatic Adults

Supplemental digital content is available in the text.ABSTRACT Objective The current study aimed to compare the Philadelphia collar and an open-design cervical collar with regard to user satisfaction and cervical range of motion in asymptomatic adults.Design Seventy-two healthy subjects (36 women, 36 men) aged 18 to 29 yrs were recruited for this study. Neck movements, including active flexion, extension, right/left lateral flexion, and right/left axial rotation, were assessed in each subject under three conditionswithout wearing a collar and while wearing two different cervical collarsusing a dual digital inclinometer. Subject satisfaction was assessed using a five-item self-administered questionnaire.Results Both Philadelphia and open-design collars significantly reduced cervical motions (P < 0.05). Compared with the Philadelphia collar, the open-design collar more greatly reduced cervical motions in three planes and the differences were statistically significant except for limiting flexion. Satisfaction scores for Philadelphia and open-design collars were 15.89 (3.87) and 19.94 (3.11), respectively.Conclusion Based on the data of the 72 subjects presented in this study, the open-design collar adequately immobilized the cervical spine as a semirigid collar and was considered cosmetically acceptable, at least for subjects aged younger than 30 yrs.