Neck pain, whether from a traumatic event or of a non-traumatic nature, is a leading cause of worldwide disability.In the US alone, medical costs associated with neck pain are the third highest bill for health-related conditions($88 billion spent every year). Although acute neck pain resolves spontaneously over weeks and is well managedby painkillers and muscle relaxants, 50-70% of individuals experience chronic symptoms or recurrences 1-5years after initial neck pain resolution. Therefore, 19.1 million patients visit every year a chiropractor or physicaltherapist to perform exercises for neck rehabilitation. Strong evidence supports that cervical muscle traininghelps to relieve pain, restore range of motion (ROM), and reinforce the musculature of the neck to preventdisabilities and injuries. Nonetheless, traditional rehabilitation approaches are not effective as they rely only ona "good enough" approach rather than evidence-based methods. Current clinical guidelines involve the use ofprovocative tests, Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) devices, goniometers, or hands for neck disabilitydiagnosis, and bands, hands, or weight pressure for conditioning and strengthening exercises. However, thesetools provide inaccurate and inconsistent data and are unsafe and inefficient to fully resolve the problem.Orthopedic Wellness Laboratories (OWL) will change the current paradigm, introducing the first medical devicebased on an innovative, adjustable resistive mechanism, for accurate and efficient evaluation and rehabilitationof neck disabilities. The device consists of a head restraint configured to move in the sagittal, frontal, andtransverse planes linked to a multi-axis modular resistance mechanism that can be set to create resistance tothe user's cervical motion. The device utilizes advances in technology and movement metrics to providequantitative, accurate, and real-time data of the patient neck range of motion in three planes and allows to safelyand precisely strengthen specific weak or injured areas without overloading them. The research proposed in thisSBIR Phase I will be focused on the feasibility assessment of OWL's technology. In particular, OWL will developthe first multi-axis cervical muscle prototype device designed to fit individuals with different neck and headphysical dimensions and range of motion. The prototype will be tested for comfort and ease of use by volunteersubjects and physical therapists, and the ability to accurately measure the range of motion in a real-life diagnosisset-up. Future SBIR Phase II will focus on the development of a product market-ready and clinical interventiontests. Successful completion of this research will result in a new tool that will enable clinicians and physicaltherapists to provide accurate diagnoses, create customized patient exercises, increase practice throughput,identify the potential joint, disc, or skeletal dysfunctions earlier, and increase patient compliance to the neckrehabilitation treatment.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE
Rehabilitation of cervical muscles to cure neck pain currently relies on rudimentary, inconsistent, and low-tech
methods that fail to provide long-term resolution of the problem. Orthopedic Wellness Laboratories, Inc. (OWL)
is developing the first multi-axis cervical muscle conditioning and rehabilitation device, based on an innovative
resistance mechanism. OWL's unique technology will improve the management of neck pain by providing the
clinician the ability to quantify baseline motion metrics (injured or weak muscles and asymmetric motion) within
each plane individually, develop customized conditioning plans per the patient's specific needs, and track
performance metrics with time to enhance patient compliance.
Project Terms:
