Cervical spine pathology and headache in patients with connective tissue dysplasia syndrome

Abstract

This study aimed at evaluating the role of pathologic changes in the vertebral motor segment (VMS) of the cervical spine in the development of headache in patients with connective tissue dysplasia (CTD). Materials and methods. The study involved 130 patients, aged 18-59, with complaints of headache. 100 patients (76.9 %) had clinical manifestations of CTD (main group). The control group consisted of 30 patients (23.1 %) without CTD manifestations. The presence of CTD was confirmed by phenotyping according to T.I. Kadurina’s tables. The headache nature, frequency, and intensity were analyzed in all patients, and standard neurological examination, manual testing, and neuroimaging studies of all patients were performed. In the study presented, it was found that chronic migraine, headache associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD) was more common in the group of patients with CTD. Patients with headache on the background of CTD had pathological changes in the cervical spine in the vast majority of cases. Functional blockade of the VMS of the cervical spine with the formation of myofascial trigger zones in the trapezius and pericranial muscles is detected significantly more often in patients with CTD. Thus, it is necessary to take into account the presence of functional disorders in the VMS of the cervical spine when diagnosing and treating headache in patients with CTD.