Association Of Elevated Blood Pressure With Cervical Spine Dysfunction: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective

To determine the association between elevated blood pressure and cervical spine dysfunction.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of four months in cardiology and general medicine departments of government and private hospitals and clinical setups of Mansehra and Abbottabad. Sample size was 354. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0.

Results

Out of 354 participants, 234(66.1%) were female and 129(33.9%) were male. Neck pain or stiffness was reported by 284 participants (80.2%). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 149.01±44.61 mmHg and 94.68±16.00 mmHg, respectively. A statistically significant difference was demonstrated in systolic BP between participants with and without neck pain or stiffness (U=8073.0, p=0.014), while no significant difference was observed for diastolic blood pressure (p=0.269). Spearman’s correlation revealed a weak but significant positive correlation between frequency of neck pain per month and systolic BP (ρ=0.147, p=0.006), whereas the correlation with diastolic BP was not significant (p=0.158)

Conclusion

The study demonstrated a significant association between cervical spine dysfunction and elevated systolic blood pressure. Participants with neck pain or stiffness showed higher systolic blood pressure and more frequent blood pressure spikes.