Roger Kerry and Alan J. Taylor
This paper presents a clinical overview of cervical arterial dysfunction (CAD) for manual therapists who treat patients presenting with cervical pain and headache syndromes. An overview of vertebrobasilar arterial insufficiency (VBI) is given, with reference to assessment procedures recommended by commonly used guidelines. A holistic and evidence-based approach to CAD is presented and considers typical pain patterns and clinical progressions of both vertebrobasilar, and internal carotid arterial pathologies. The authors suggest that consideration of the information provided in this Masterclass will enhance the manual therapist's clinical reasoning with regard to differential diagnosis of cervical pain syndromes, and prediction of serious adverse reactions to treatment.
Manual Therapy, Volume 11, Issue 4,