An Analysis of the State of Cervical Disc Herniation According to Cervical Lordosis and Age

Objectives : The aim of this study is to investigate the state of cervical disc herniation according to the degree of cervical lordosis and age. Methods : 67 records of inpatients who were diagnosed with herniated intervertebral disc(HIVD) of the cervical spine were analyzed. Cobb’s method, Jochumsen method and the Ishihara index were used to measure the degree of cervical lordosis. The state of the cervical disc was identified using magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) of the cervical spine. Then correlations among cervical lordosis, age and cervical disc herniation were analyzed. Results : Disc bulging was associated with hypolordosis and disc protrusion was associated with hyperlordosis and age. Disc extrusion was not associated with either cervical lordosis or age. The number of disc herniations in the cervical spine was correlated with age significantly, but not with cervical lordosis. Conclusions : Cervical disc herniation had a tendency to correlate with age and cervical lordosis, although this is not definite. Future studies that analyze more radiographic images of patients with HIVD of the cervical spine might be necessary to identify the influence of cervical lordosis on cervical disc herniation.