Increased rates of fibromyalgia following cervical spine injury. A Controlled study of 161 cases of traumatic injury

Abstract

Objective. To study the relationship between cervical spine injury and the development of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).Methods. One hundred two patients with neck injury and 59 patients with leg fractures (control group) were assessed for nonarticular tenderness and the presence of FMS. A count of 18 tender points was conducted by thumb palpation, and tenderness thresholds were assessed by dolorimetry at 9 tender sites. All patients were interviewed about the presence and severity of neck and FMS-related symptoms. F M S was diagnosed using the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria. Additional questions assessed measures of physical functioning and quality of life (QOL).Results. Although no patient had a chronic pain syndrome prior to the trauma, F M S was diagnosed following injury in 21.6% of those with neck injury versus 1.7% of the control patients with lower extremity fractures (P = 0.001). Almost all symptoms were more common and severe in the group with neck injury. F M S was noted at a mean of 3.2 months (SD 1.1) after the trauma. Neck injury patients with F M S (n = 22) had more tenderness, had more severe and prevalent FMS- Conclusion. F M S was 13 times more frequent following neck injury than following lower extremity injury. All patients continued to be employed, and insurance claims were not increased in patients with FMS.

Clinical evidence for cervical myelopathy due to Chiari malformation and spinal stenosis in a non-randomized group of patients with the diagnosis of fibromyalgia

“…Wolfe reported a 40% prevalence of neck injury and a 31% prevalence of back injury in a series of patients with fibromyalgia [54]. Buskila et al reported that the incidence of fibromyalgia was 13 times greater following neck injury than following lower extremity injury [14].…”

Mechanisms in Chronic Multisymptom Illnesses

“…These data suggest that evidence of vulnerability to PTSD in the immediate aftermath of a MVC predicts subsequent development of chronic WAD. Evidence that a subset of those with neck pain after MVC progresses to develop fibromyalgia (72) suggests that WAD and FM may be linked and that vulnerability to develop PTSD after MVC may also predict the development of fibromyalgia. These data suggest the testable hypothesis that factors which predict vulnerability to PTSD in prospective studies will also predict vulnerability to WAD and fibromyalgia.…”

Most Cited Publications in Cervical Spine Surgery

“…This can be seen in our comparison of articles by number of citations per year. Carragee et al 6 article has an average citation of 76.6 per year compared with Frankel et al, 7,25,68 . We see articles on cervical disc arthroplasty advancing significantly when we rank by average per year.…”