Cervical Spine

Author(s):  
Siddarth Thakur ◽  
Salahadin Abdi

Pain emanating from the cervical spine represents a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for clinicians. The precise etiology of the pain may be difficult to identify because there are many potential pain-generating structures in the cervical spine and surrounding region. It is helpful to delineate the patient’s symptoms as axial- or radicular-predominant in order to guide the investigation prior to initiating treatment. The evidence for many commonly used treatment regimens is variable, and therefore an individualized plan is often necessary. Although it is conceptually accommodating to compartmentalize the etiology of cervical spine pain from a single source, the reality is that multiple structures are often involved, given the complex anatomy of the cervical spine. This chapter discusses cervical spine anatomy and biomechanics, as well as the etiology, pathophysiology, and management options for axial and radicular neck pain.

2019 ◽  
Vol XXIII (2) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
Joanna PIĘTA ◽  
Adrian KUŻDŻAŁ ◽  
Aleksander ZAGÓRSKI

<b>Aim.</b> The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of cervical spine pain and students' knowledge about Text Neck Syndrome. <b>Material and research methodology.</b> The study covered 150 students of Physiotherapy and Computer Science, aged 18 - 26. The study used questionnaire consisting of 24 questions, as well as the NDI (Neck Disability Index) questionnaire. <b>Results.</b> The research have shown, that 69% of respondents have experienced cervical spine pain in their lives. Almost half of the students have heard about Text Neck Syndrome. A relationship between the frequency of neck pain and the age at which neck pain appeared for the first time, physical activity, the number of hours spent using the cell phone and the position taken while using the phone as well as the position taken at work were demonstrated . The relationship between the sum of points obtained in the NDI questionnaire and the number of hours allocated to using a mobile phone was also demonstrated. <b>Conclusions.</b> Most students have experienced cervical spine pain in their lives. Many factors affect the incidence of neck pain. Almost half of the respondents heard about Text Neck Syndrome. The use of cell phones affects the pain and level of cervical spine dysfunction.


Author(s):  
Pierre Langevin ◽  
Philippe Fait ◽  
Pierre Frémont ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Roy

Abstract Background Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is an acknowledged public health problem. Up to 25% of adult with mTBI present persistent symptoms. Headache, dizziness, nausea and neck pain are the most commonly reported symptoms and are frequently associated with cervical spine and vestibular impairments. The most recent international consensus statement (2017 Berlin consensus) recommends the addition of an individualized rehabilitation approach for mTBI with persistent symptoms. The addition of an individualized rehabilitation approach including the evaluation and treatment of cervical and vestibular impairments leading to symptoms such as neck pain, headache and dizziness is, however, recommended based only on limited scientific evidence. The benefit of such intervention should therefore be further investigated. Objective To compare the addition of a 6-week individualized cervicovestibular rehabilitation program to a conventional approach of gradual sub-threshold physical activation (SPA) alone in adults with persistent headache, neck pain and/or dizziness-related following a mTBI on the severity of symptoms and on other indicators of clinical recovery. We hypothesize that such a program will improve all outcomes faster than a conventional approach (between-group differences at 6-week and 12-week). Methods In this single-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled trial, 46 adults with subacute (3 to12 weeks post-injury) persistent mTBI symptoms will be randomly assigned to: 1) a 6-week SPA program or 2) SPA combined with a cervicovestibular rehabilitation program. The cervicovestibular rehabilitation program will include education, cervical spine manual therapy and exercises, vestibular rehabilitation and home exercises. All participants will take part in 4 evaluation sessions (baseline, week 6, 12 and 26) performed by a blinded evaluator. The primary outcome will be the Post-Concussion Symptoms Scale. The secondary outcomes will be time to clearance to return to function, number of recurrent episodes, Global Rating of Change, Numerical Pain Rating Scale, Neck Disability Index, Headache Disability Inventory and Dizziness Handicap Inventory. A 2-way ANOVA and an intention-to-treat analysis will be used. Discussion Controlled trials are needed to determine the best rehabilitation approach for mTBI with persistent symptoms such as neck pain, headache and dizziness. This RCT will be crucial to guide future clinical management recommendations. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier - NCT03677661, Registered on September, 15th 2018.


Author(s):  
Eun-Dong Jeong ◽  
Chang-Yong Kim ◽  
Nack-Hwan Kim ◽  
Hyeong-Dong Kim

BACKGROUND: The cranio-cervical flexion exercise and sub-occipital muscle inhibition technique have been used to improve a forward head posture among neck pain patients with straight leg raise (SLR) limitation. However, little is known about the cranio-vertebral angle (CVA) and cervical spine range of motion (CROM) after applying stretching methods to the hamstring muscle. OBJECTIVE: To compare the immediate effects of static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching on SLR, CVA, and CROM in neck pain patients with hamstring tightness. METHODS: 64 subjects were randomly allocated to the static stretching (n1= 32) or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (n2= 32) stretching group. The SLR test was performed to measure the hamstring muscle’s flexibility and tightness between the two groups, with CROM and CVA also being measured. The paired t-test was used to compare all the variables within each group before and after the intervention. The independent t-test was used to compare the two groups before and after the stretching exercise. RESULTS: There were no between-group effects for any outcome variables (P> 0.05). However, all SLR, CVA, and CROM outcome variables were significantly improved within-group (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There were no between-group effects for any outcome variable; however, SLR, CVA, and CROM significantly improved within-group after the one-session intervention in neck pain patients with hamstring tightness.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 739
Author(s):  
Neil Tuttle ◽  
Kerrie Evans ◽  
Clarice Sperotto dos Santos Rocha

Tropism, or asymmetry, of facet joints in the cervical spine has been found to be related to degenerative changes of the joints and discs. Clinicians often assume that differences in segmental mobility are related to tropism. The aims of this study were to determine the relationship between asymmetry of facet joints in the sub-axial cervical spine and (1) segmental mobility and (2) spinal levels perceived by therapists to have limited mobility. Eighteen participants with idiopathic neck pain had MRIs of their cervical spine in neutral and at the end of active rotation. Angular movement and translational movement of each motion segment was calculated from 3D segmentations of the vertebrae. A plane was fitted to the facet on each side. Tropism was considered to be the difference in the orientation of the facet planes and ranged from 1 to 30° with a median of 7.7°. No relationships were found between the extent of tropism and either segmental movement or locations deemed to be symptomatic. Tropism in the sub-axial cervical spine does not appear to be related to segmental mobility in rotation or to levels deemed to be symptomatic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 463.2-464
Author(s):  
A. Alawamy ◽  
M. Hassanien ◽  
E. Talaat ◽  
E. Kamel

Background:Rheumatoid arthritis is a common type of autoimmune arthritis characterized by chronic inflammation. Cervical spine is often affected specially in long lasting diseaseObjectives:Evaluate efficacy of Third occipital nerve Radiofrequency under fluoroscopic guidance to treat refractory cervicogenic headache in RA patients.Methods:The current study was revised and approved from the local ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine; Assiut University, then registered in the clinical trials under the number ofNCT03852355. Inclusion criteria included, Patients who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) (2010) criteria for RA and suffering from upper neck pain and/or headache due to bilateral 3rd occipital nerve involvement, excluding other local cervical spine pathologies was confirmed by MRI and previously failed conservative treatment for at least three months prior to enrollment. Sixty adult patients were randomly assigned to one of the two studied groups Group 1 (RF, n = 30), received bilateral Third occipital nerve Radiofrequency under fluoroscopic guidance or Group 2 (control group, n = 30), received oral prednisolone 10 mg/day. The two groups were then followed-up with neck disability index (NDI), nocturnal neck pain VAS score and headache score every two weeks for three months. Sleep disturbance, sleep disability index were reassessed six months post intervention. Post interventional assessment was done by pain physician who were kept blind to the grouping process.Results:Neck disability index (1ry outcome), Nocturnal pain VAS, and severity of headache showed significant differences during the whole post-interventional study period. The patients in RF group demonstrated significant improvement of pain in comparison to baseline value over the whole six months with p-value < 0.001 as regard to the fore-mentioned three parameters. On the other aspect, the control group patients showed significant improvement in comparison to its baseline value after the 2nd, 12th and 24th weeks only as follows: (0.001,0.003, 0.003 for the NDI) (p values of 0.02,0.01, 0.01 for the nocturnal pain VAS), (0.001 0.009, 0.005 for the headache VAS severity.Conclusion:Radiofrequency of 3rd occipital nerve is effective in treatment of refractory cervicogenic headache in RA.Disclosure of Interests: :None declared


PM&R ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. S303-S304
Author(s):  
Annie R. Layno-Moses ◽  
Tariq Malik ◽  
Joshua J. Minori

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas AuYong ◽  
Joseph Piatt

Jefferson fractures of the immature spine have received little attention in the study of pediatric spinal trauma. Fractures through synchondroses are a possibility in the immature spine, in addition to fractures through osseous portions of the vertebral ring, and they create opportunities for misinterpretation of diagnostic imaging. The authors describe 3 examples of Jefferson fractures in young children. All 3 cases featured fractures through an anterior synchondrosis in association with persistence of the posterior synchondrosis or a fracture of the posterior arch. The possibility of a Jefferson fracture should be considered for any child presenting with neck pain, cervical muscle spasm, or torticollis following a head injury, despite a seemingly normal cervical spine study. Jefferson fractures in young children are probably much more common than previously recognized.


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