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. 2016 Feb 15:22:495-500.
doi: 10.12659/msm.897500.

Decreased Vertebral Artery Hemodynamics in Patients with Loss of Cervical Lordosis

Mehmet Deniz Bulut  1 , Mahmut Alpayci  2 , Emre Şenköy  2 , Aydin Bora  1 , Levent Yazmalar  3 , Alpaslan Yavuz  1 , İsmail Gülşen  4
Affiliations

Decreased Vertebral Artery Hemodynamics in Patients with Loss of Cervical Lordosis

Mehmet Deniz Bulut et al. Med Sci Monit. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND Because loss of cervical lordosis leads to disrupted biomechanics, the natural lordotic curvature is considered to be an ideal posture for the cervical spine. The vertebral arteries proceed in the transverse foramen of each cervical vertebra. Considering that the vertebral arteries travel in close anatomical relationship to the cervical spine, we speculated that the loss of cervical lordosis may affect vertebral artery hemodynamics. The aim of this study was to compare the vertebral artery values between subjects with and without loss of cervical lordosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty patients with loss of cervical lordosis and 30 controls matched for age, sex, and body mass index were included in the study. Sixty vertebral arteries in patients with loss of cervical lordosis and 60 in controls without loss of cervical lordosis were evaluated by Doppler ultrasonography. Vertebral artery hemodynamics, including lumen diameter, flow volume, peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity, and resistive index, were measured, and determined values were statistically compared between the patient and the control groups. RESULTS The means of diameter (p=0.003), flow volume (p=0.002), and peak systolic velocity (p=0.014) in patients were significantly lower as compared to controls. However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of the end-diastolic velocity (p=0.276) and resistive index (p=0.536) parameters. CONCLUSIONS The present study revealed a significant association between loss of cervical lordosis and decreased vertebral artery hemodynamics, including diameter, flow volume, and peak systolic velocity. Further studies are required to confirm these findings and to investigate their possible clinical implications.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The course of the vertebral arteries through the transverse foramina on both sides of the vertebral bodies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Normal cervical lordosis (A), and normal cervical course of the vertebral artery (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Loss of cervical lordosis (A), and stretched vertebral artery course (B).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Vertebral artery spectral Doppler ultrasound waveforms in a 33-year-old woman with 204 ml/min flow volume.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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