Measuring Cervical Range of Motion in Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: Reliability and Meaningful Change With a Sensor and a Smartphone

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who measure and document neck motion in outpatient orthopedic settings, and anyone who reads or writes re-assessment notes that hinge on a few degrees of change.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Athletic trainers, occupational therapists, and chiropractors who record cervical mobility may also find the material relevant.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

Tatsios PI, Grammatopoulou E, Dimitriadis Z, Patsaki I, Gioftsos G, Koumantakis GA. Cervical Spine Range of Motion Reliability with Two Methods and Associations with Demographics, Forward Head Posture, and Respiratory Mechanics in Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025;10(3). doi:10.3390/jfmk10030269. PMID: 40700206. PMCID: PMC12286080.

This course reports what this single study set out to do, how it was carried out, what it found, and what its authors concluded. It does not add recommendations beyond the source, and no figure appears here that does not appear in the source.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, setting, and design of the study that compared a helmet-mounted accelerometer sensor with two smartphone apps for measuring cervical spine range of motion in adults with non-specific chronic neck pain.
2. State, in degrees, the measurement error and smallest detectable change the authors reported for each method and for the craniovertebral angle, and explain what those figures mean when a re-assessment note reports a change in motion.
3. Explain which demographic, postural, and breathing-related associations the authors reported, how certain they were about each, and which limits they placed on their own conclusions.

1. Start Here: course overview, objectives, and how to earn credit
2. Podcast: Two Ways to Measure Neck Motion — about eight minutes
3. Chronic Neck Pain and the Case for Measuring Cervical Motion
4. Two Devices on One Helmet: How the Measurements Were Taken
5. Excellent Agreement and the Smallest Change Worth Reporting
6. Age, Forward Head Posture, and Chest Wall Expansion
7. Limits of the Evidence and What the Authors Concluded
8. Key Takeaways for Documentation and Re-Assessment
9. Post-test (5 questions, 80% to pass, retakes allowed) and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Tatsios PI, Grammatopoulou E, Dimitriadis Z, Patsaki I, Gioftsos G, Koumantakis GA. Cervical Spine Range of Motion Reliability with Two Methods and Associations with Demographics, Forward Head Posture, and Respiratory Mechanics in Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025;10(3). doi:10.3390/jfmk10030269. PMID: 40700206. PMCID: PMC12286080.
2. This course reports what this single study set out to do, how it was carried out, what it found, and what its authors concluded. It does not add recommendations beyond the source, and no figure appears here that does not appear in the source.