CO-relation between cervicothoracic angle and neck pain in adults

Abstract

Introduction: Neck pain is the fourth most common cause of disability after lower back pain, depression, and joint pain. Cervical sagittal balance is as crucial as pelvic sagittal alignment and is related to the concept of T1 alignment. Materials and Methods: An observational cross sectional study was conducted on 235 Patients diagnosed as neck pain and treated at our institute between August 2017 to July 2019 with age between 20-80 years with neck pain complaints and on medication were included in this study. Pain and functional improvements were assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) and neck disability index (NDI). Standing lateral view and standing swimmers lateral view of cervical spine radiographs were taken and studied for evaluating cervicothoracic parameters T1 slope and SVA (Saggital Vertical Axis) C2-7, following neck pain and compared with normal ranges. Variations of these criteria have been reported along with the scores of the questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using the edition 21.0 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: After analysis, it was found that the average T1 slope was 27.82 + 14.33, the average male T1 slope was 26.74 + 14.21 and the average female T1 slope was 28.56 + 14.42. According to Sang et al average T1 slope is 25.7.5 + 6.4 which was taken as a reference for comparison with the asymptomatic population, our study had an increased value but was not significant. Conclusions: The pain in the neck increases with age. It is more prevalent in females. Study shows an increase in neck pain with increasing age due to degenerative changes in the T1 slope, SVA C2-C7. There is no significant correlation with cervical and neck pain or disability but a good relationship between the two. There was no substantial difference in cervical curve between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Keywords: Neck pain, Cervical pain, Cervicothoracic junction, T1 Slope.