Chiropractic care of a patient with vertebral subluxations and unsuccessful surgery of the cervical spine

Objective: The chiropractic care of a patient with vertebral subluxations, neck pain, and cervical radiculopathy after a cervical diskectomy is descri bed. Clinical Features: A 55-year-old man had neck pain and left upper extremity radiculopathy after unsuccessful cervical spine surgery. Intervention and Outcome: Contact-specific, hi velocity, low-amplitude adju stments (ie, Gonstead technique) were applied to sites of vertebral subluxa tions. Rehabilitation exercises were also used as adjunct to care. The pati ent reported a decrease in neck pain and left arm pain after chiropractic i ntervention. The patient also demonstrated a marked increase in range of mo tion (ROM) of the left glenohumeral articulation. Conclusion: The chiropractic care of a patient with neck pain and left uppe r extremity radiculopathy after cervical diskectomy is presented. Marked re solution of the patient's symptoms was obtained concomitant with a reductio n in subluxation findings multiple levels despite the complicating history of an unsuccessful cervical spine surgery. This is the first report in the indexed literature of chiropractic care after an, unsuccessful cervical spi ne surgery.