Valuation of the relationship between the rotational restriction of high cervical column and high thoracic column in students with and without cervical pain of the Faculty of Sciences of the Rehabilitation

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical pain is one of the disorders that most affects and worries people. One of its possible causes are joint dysfunctions that can develop in the upper cervical, lower cervical and upper thoracic spines. However, studies that have focused on the dysfunctional relationships of both columns in a transverse plane are still very scarce. Objective: To contribute to the knowledge about cervical pain and clinical analysis, the objective of this study was to evaluate if there is a relationship between the rotational mobility restriction of the high cervical spine (C1-C2) and the high thoracic spine (T1-T2-T3) in female students with and without cervical pain. Material and methodology: 37 female students with acute neck pain and 37 asymptomatic female students belonging to the Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences of the Andrés Bello University were recruited. The rotational mobility of the upper cervical spine was evaluated by means of the Dvorák Flexion-Rotation Test and the rotational mobility of the upper thoracic spine was evaluated with the Mitchell Test. Results and conclusions: Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that there was no relationship between cervical pain, rotational restriction of the upper and upper thoracic spine. In addition, subsequent studies are necessary to have a better understanding of the functional relationship of these segments.