The prevalence of cervical zygapophyseal joint pain:​ a first approximation

Aprill, Charless; Bogduk, Nikolai

Affiliations

¹Diagnostic Conservative Management, New Orleans, Louisiana

²Faculty of Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

Abstract and keywords

A null hypothesis was tested to the effect that cervical zygapophyseal joint pain was uncommon. The prospectively recorded responses were reviewed of 318 consecutive patients with intractable neck pain who underwent provocation discography and cervical zygapophyseal joint blocks. Symptomatic zygapophyseal joints were encountered in 25% of the sample with a possibility that a further 38% suffered zygapophyseal pain but were not appropriately investigated. The null hypothesis was rejected. Cervical zygapophyseal joint pain is not rare, and is worthy of further consideration not just in research but in clinical practice.

Keywords: neck pain; cervical spine; epidemiology; zygapophyseal joints

Links

DOI: 10.1097/00007632-199207000-00003

PubMed: 1502636

WoS: A1992JE34500003

History

Accepted: 1991-07-22

Cited Works (3)

Year	Entry
1990	Dwyer A, Aprill C, Bogduk N. Cervical zygapophyseal joint pain patterns, I: a study in normal volunteers. Spine. June 1990;15(6):453-457.
1988	Bogduk N, Marsland A. The cervical zygapophysial joints as a source of neck pain. Spine. June 1988;13(6):610-617.
1990	Aprill C, Dwyer A, Bogduk N. Cervical zygapophyseal joint pain patterns, II: a clinical evaluation. Spine. June 1990;15(6):458-461.

Cited By (21)

Year	Entry
1994	Barnsley L, Lord S, Bogduk N. Whiplash injury. Pain. September 1994;58(3):283-307.
2015	Crosby ND, Smith JR, Winkelstein BA. Pain biomechanics. In: Yoganandan N, Nahum AM, Melvin JW, eds. Accidental Injury: Biomechanics and Prevention. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2015:549-580.
2004	Lee KE, Franklin AN, Winkelstein BA. Development of an experimental model of in vivo cervical facet joint loading and capsule distraction. In: Proceedings of the 32nd International Workshop on Human Subjects for Biomechanical Research. 2004.257-267.
2005	Gibson T, Bostrom O, Kullgren A, Milthorpe B. The mechanisms of early onset C5/C6 soft-tissue neck injury in rear impacts. In: Proceedings of the 2005 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 21-23, 2005; Prague, Czech Republic.215-228.
1999	Winkelstein BA, Nightingale RW, Richardson WJ, Myers BS. Cervical facet joint mechanics: its application to whiplash injury. In: Proceedings of the 43rd Stapp Car Crash Conference. October 25-27, 1999; San Diego, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:243-252. SAE 99SC15.
2004	Lee KE, Davis MB, Mejilla RM, Winkelstein BA. In vivo cervical facet capsule distraction: mechanical implications for whiplash and neck pain. Stapp Car Crash J. 2004;48:373-395. SAE 2004-22-0016.
2007	Quinn KP, Lee KE, Ahaghotu CC, Winkelstein BA. Structural changes in the cervical facet capsular ligament: potential contributions to pain following subfailure loading. Stapp Car Crash J. 2007;51:169-187. SAE 2007-22-0008.
2001	Yoganandan N, Kumaresan S, Pintar FA. Biomechanics of the cervical spine, II: cervical spine soft tissue responses and biomechanical modeling. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). January 2001;16(1):1-27.
2006	Lee KE, Franklin AN, Davis MB, Winkelstein BA. Tensile cervical facet capsule ligament mechanics: failure and subfailure responses in the rat. J Biomech. 2006;39(7):1256-1264.
2004	Lee KE, Thinnes JH, Gokhin DS, Winkelstein BA. A novel rodent neck pain model of facet-mediated behavioral hypersensitivity: implications for persistent pain and whiplash injury. J Neurosci Meth. August 30, 2004;137(2):151-159.
2001	Inami S, Shiga T, Tsujino A, Yabuki T, Okado N, Ochiai N. Immunohistochemical demonstration of nerve fibers in the synovial fold of the human cervical facel joint. J Orthop Res. July 2001;19(4):593-506.
1995	Barnsley L, Lord SM, Wallis BJ, Bogduk N. The prevalence of chronic cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash. Spine. January 1995;20(1):20-25.
1996	Lord SM, Barnsley L, Wallis BJ, Bogduk N. Chronic cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash: a placebo-controlled prevalence study. Spine. August 1996;21(15):1737-1744.
2000	Winkelstein BA, Nightingale RW, Richardson WJ, Myers BS. The cervical facet capsule and its role in whiplash injury: a biomechanical investigation. Spine. May 15, 2000;25(10):1238-1246.
2004	Kallakuri S, Singh A, Chen C, Cavanaugh JM. Demonstration of substance p, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and protein gene product 9.5 containing nerve fibers in human cervical facet joint capsules. Spine. June 1, 2004;29(11):1182-1186.
2009	Siegmund GP, Winkelstein BA, Ivancic PC, Svensson MY, Vasavada A. The anatomy and biomechanics of acute and chronic whiplash injury. Traffic Inj Prev. 2009;10(2):101-112.
2012	Carlsson A. Addressing Female Whiplash Injury Protection: A Step Towards 50th Percentile Female Rear Impact Occupant Models [PhD thesis]. Gothenburg, Sweden: Chalmers University of Technology; 2012.
1999	Winkelstein BA. A Mechanical Basis for Whiplash Injury: The Cervical Facet Joint, Spinal Motion Segment, and Combined Loading [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 1999.
2006	Gibson T. Development and Validation of a C5/C6 Motion Segment Model [PhD thesis]. University of New South Wales; January 4, 2006.
2008	Lee KE. An Engineering Approach to Understanding Painful Facet -Mediated Injury: Insights on Biomechanics and Neuropeptide Responses in a Rat Model [PhD thesis]. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania; 2008.
2010	Quinn KP. Integrating Electrophysiological, Mechanical, and Optical Methods to Define the Mechanisms of Painful Facet Joint Injury [PhD thesis]. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania; 2010.