Degenerative change in the cervical spine and load-carrying on the head

Jäger, H. J.; Gordon-Harris, L.; Mehring, Ulrich-Martin; Goetz, G. Friedrich; Mathias, Klaus D.

Affiliations

¹Department of Diagnostic Radiology, City Hospital Dortmund, Beurhausstrasse 40, D-44137 Dortmund, Germany, DE

²Diagnostic Clinic, Freetown, Sierra Leone, SL

Abstract and keywords

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between load-carrying on the head and the development of degenerative change in the cervical spine.

Design and subjects: A case-control study was performed with 35 individuals who had carried loads on their head (carriers) and 35 persons who never had carrier loads on their head (non-carriers). A scoring system was utilized for the assessment of the degenerative change in the cervical spine at the C3/C4, C4/C5, C5/C6 and C6/C7 levels on lateral cervical spine radiography. A total score was calculated by summing the scores for the single segments.

Results and conclusion: In 31 of the 35 (88.6%) carriers degenerative change was found in the cervical spine, but only in 8 of the 35 (22.9%) non-carriers (P<0.01). The total score and the scores for segments C4/5, C5/C6 anc C6/C7 were significantly higher for the carriers than the non-carriers. It is concluded that the axial strain of load-carrying on the head exacerbates degenerative change in the cervical spine.

Keywords: Cervical spine; Cervical spondylosis; Occupational disease

Links

DOI: 10.1007/s002560050269

PubMed: 9297752

WoS: A1997XT48100005

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Cited By (8)

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2014	Adegoke BOA, Anyakudo RO, Odole AC. Spinal deformities among professional load porters in a Nigerian urban market. J Environ Occup Sci. April–June 2014;3(2):109-113.
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2013	Porter G, Hampshire K, Dunn C, Hall R, Levesley M, Burton K, Robson S, Abane A, Blell M, Panther J. Health impacts of pedestrian head-loading: a review of the evidence with particular reference to women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. Soc Sci Med. July 2013;88:90-97.
2011	Beaucage-Gauvreau E, Dumas GA, Lawani M. Head load carriage and pregnancy in West Africa. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). November 2011;26(9):889-894.
2018	LeClair B, O'Connor PJ, Podrucky S, Lievers WB. Measuring the mass and center of gravity of helmet systems for underground workers. Int J Ind Ergon. March 2018;64:23-30.
2002	Echarri JJ, Forriol F. Effect of axial load on the cervical spine: a study of Congolese woodbearers. Int Orthop. June 2002;26(3):141-144.
2023	Barrett JM, Healey LA, McKinnon CD, Laing AC, Dickerson CR, Fischer SL, Callaghan JP. Head supported mass, moment of inertia, neck loads and stability: a simulation study. J Biomech. January 2023;146:111416.
2005	Thuresson M. On Neck Load Among Helicopter Pilots: Effects of Head-Worn Equipment, Whole-Body Vibration and Neck Position [PhD thesis]. Stockholm, Sweden: Karolinska Institutet; 2005.