Rigid Cervical Collars after Posterior Cervical Fusion: Do They Improve Outcomes? A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Study Summary

60 patients undergoing posterior cervical decompression and fusion (PCDF) for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) were randomized to receive a rigid cervical collar for 3 months or no postoperative collar. All patients underwent lateral mass fixation using rod-and-screw constructs and received standardized postoperative pain management and rehabilitation. The primary outcome of interest was axial neck pain measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at 1 month. Secondary outcomes included disability measured using the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and health-related quality of life measured using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Overall, the results of the study revealed significant improvements in pain, disability, and quality of life in both groups, without statistically significant between-group differences at any follow-up. These findings suggested that routine rigid cervical collar use did not provide additional clinical benefit following PCDF for DCM.