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Chu, Eric Chun-Pu et al. “Craniocervical instability associated with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report and brief review.” AME case reports vol. 5 12. 25 Apr. 2021, doi:10.21037/acr-20-131
A disease called rheumatoid arthritis is caused by an immune system that attacks the synovial tissue that lines joints and tendons, which makes them hurt.
There are only synovial joints and ligaments at the craniocervical junction, so it is very susceptible to the inflammatory process of arthritis.
Chronic inflammation from RA causes ligaments to loosen and bones to break down, which causes the skull and spine to become unstable.
This is our patient who was 80 years old and had been diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis two decades ago. She had been having problems with her head dropping and losing her balance while walking for a few months.
Atlantoaxial instability, cranial settling, and subluxation were all seen on radiographs of the cervical spine.
This is because arthritis makes the spine more unstable. Because physical therapy and acupuncture didn’t work for her before, the patient went to a chiropractor for help.
It included upper thoracic spine mobilization, electrical muscle stimulation of the cervical extensors, home exercises, and a neck brace.
After a four-month chiropractic treatment, she had regained a lot of neck muscle strength, her gaze angle, and her walking balance, but her cervical kyphosis was still there.
The goal of this study is to give people who have Rheumatoid arthritis some basic information about how to treat people who also have red flags, so they can get the treatment they need.
The current study is indexed at The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintain the database as part of the system of information.