Instructional Module
Cervical Spine Soft Tissue, Bony Palpation and Range of Motion
About this module
This instructional module is designed to help you locate, identify and test functionality of soft tissue, osseous and articular structures of cervical spine.
Resources
Multimedia
This tutorial contains multimedia; therefore, you will need
to have sound enabled on your computer. This tutorial also uses
Flash. You will need to have the ability to play flash. You may
need to
download the free flash plugin.
PDF
Downloadable PDF documents require
Adobe
Acrobat Reader. This is a
free
download if you need it.
Study Guides 
You may find the following study guides helpful as you navigate
through this tutorial.
Cervical rotation and muscle chart
How to use this module
Welcome! This module is divided into three major
cervical exam areas: cervical spine soft tissue,
bony
palpation, and range of motion. Each section contains
several sub-sections of information. You may begin with
any one of the major sections. Each section contains a
short quiz. Your quiz score will determine your
readiness to proceed with the practical examination
administered by ACE interns in the Health Center. You
must score at least 90% on each quiz to be eligible to
be peer-reviewed by an ACE intern in the Health Center.
The quiz results will automatically be e-mailed to the
ACE interns for review.
After completion of this module, you will understand and
be able to explain and demonstrate the processes
involved in palpation of cervical soft tissue,
osseous
structure identification, and cervical range of motion
assessment. This goal correlates with the test plan of
the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) Part
IV Technique exam, which includes identification and
palpation of anatomical landmarks as preparation to
performing cervical manipulative and mobilization
procedures. These goals also address the Council on
Chiropractic Education’s (CCE) clinical competencies for
chiropractors.
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
1. Palpate the soft tissue of the cervical spine from:
• the posterior aspect
• C1 related muscles
• The suboccipital region
2. Perform bony palpation of the cervical spine from
the:
• anterior aspect
• posterior aspect
• lateral aspect
3. Perform cervical spine range of motion exam.
