The Effects of Cervical Orthoses on Head and Intervertebral Range of Motion.

The soft collar was ineffective as a restraint to intervertebral motion during lateral bending but it did reduce intervertebral motion during flexion/extension and axial rotation. The hard collar reduced intervertebral motion compared to the soft collar across all motion directions. The CTO provided minimal reduction in intervertebral motion compared to the hard collar. The utility in using a CTO rather than a hard collar is questionable, given the cost and little or no additional motion restriction.