Evaluation and Treatment of Trigeminal Symptoms of Cervical Origin After a Motor-Vehicle Crash: A Case Report With 9-Month Follow-up

Objective

The purpose of this case report is to describe the management of a patient with trigeminal symptoms of cervical origin after a motor-vehicle crash (MVC).

Clinical Features

After a head-on MVC, a 65-year-old woman presented with complaints of dizziness, headaches, facial tingling, visual disturbance, tinnitus, loss of cervical motion, and pain in the cervical spine.

Intervention and Outcome

The intervention applied was manipulation of the left C1-C2 and right C2-C3, with targeted exercise to strengthen the cervical musculature. After 4 weeks of treatment, the patient reported improvement in functional tasks and reduction in overall pain, headaches, facial tingling, tinnitus, and dizziness. At a 9-month follow-up, the patient had no report of facial tingling, tinnitus, loss of motion, or eye pain.

Conclusion

This patient with trigeminal symptoms of cervical origin after an MVC responded well to manual therapy to the cervical spine as part of a combination of services.