Influences of Gravity Constraints on the Epidemiological and Clinical Impact of Cervicarthrosis

Abstract

Background: More than 50% of people aged 40 years suffer from cervicarthrosis, This disease constitutes a public health problem. For this the decade 2001-2010 was declared by the WHO as “decade of the bones and joints”.

Objective: To determine the epidemiological and clinical profile of the Congolese patients suffering about cervical arthrosis and to study the evolution of modification of cervical lordosis with a view to improving physical treatment.

Methods: This case study was conducted at the University clinics of Kinshasa during the year 2011 to 2016. 35 patients’ male and female, suffering about cervical arthrosis, were included. The different angulations of the cervical lordosis measured with an appropriate software. The height of the cervical spine measured by a caliper was 14 cm on average. The load exerted by the head on the cervical spine is directly function of lordosis and the height of the vertebra was calculated.

Results: Of the 35 patients, 34.3% men and 65.7 women. Age ranged from 30 to 80 years and the highest incidence of cervicarthrosis was between 61 and 65 years (20%). The clinic was dominated by cervical pain (80%) and irradiated pain in 37%. Other signs (blurred vision, headache, dizziness) were poorly represented. For radiographic signs: cervical lordosis was eliminated either decreased in 91% of cases, followed by inter-somatic pinching (68%), ductal stenosis (62%) and osteophytosis in only 20% of cases. However, osteoarthritic myelopathy is extremely rare (2%). Variation of the head load (in Kg) on each vertebra of the cervical spine from C1 to C7 and from 0 to 45° depending on the level of the vertebra and the degree of cervical lordosis. The force increases from C1 to C7 and from 45° to 0° following an arithmetic progression.

Conclusion: This chapter has just highlighted the importance of the cervical lordosis spine in the diagnosis of cervical arthrosis and showed the important role of cervical lordosis in the variation of head load on each vertebra. Cervical arthritis is a severe degenerative disease that affects the cervical region.