The brace was provided by the hospital. Patients were instructed how to properly wear the brace by the first author, the senior author, or the hospital Rehabilitation Orthotics specialist. To complete the study, patients wore the brace for at least 30 days. (Patients of J.P. continued to wear the brace for 3 months outside of the study period.). All patients wore hard cervical collars until the end of the study period.