Sustainable Improvement of Anterocollis-type Cervical Dystonia with a Hanger Reflex Device: A Case Report

Abstract

The hanger reflex is an automatic head rotation movement. When individuals wear a wire clothes hanger on the head to compress the frontotemporal region, the head spontaneously rotates toward the compressed side. The device to induce the hanger reflex was first developed for treating rotation-type cervical dystonia, followed by the development of a device for anterocollis-type cervical dystonia. However, there is a lack of comprehensive clinical reports on hanger reflex treatments, especially for anterocollis-type dystonia. We present the case of anterocollis that completely resolved after hanger reflex treatment without any other invasive treatment. In the treatment, patients wear the device on their heads for 30 min once per day. Hanger reflex treatment is an easy, simple, noninvasive, and inexpensiveness approach that may be considered the first choice for cervical dystonia.