Evaluation the Association of Facet Tropism in Multisports Athletes with Cervical Disc Hernia

Abstract Background: Facet tropism is defined as the asymmetry between the left and the right facet joints . Facet joints play an important role in the posterior stabilization of the vertebrae through the upper and lower joint faces. Most studies discuss about the relationship with lumbar disc hernia and facet joint angle. However, little is known about the association of facet tropism with disc herniation in the cervical spine in multisports athletes. In our study, We aimed to investigate the relationship between cervical facet tropism and disc hernia in athletes of different branches between the ages of 20-40 from the cervical MR images of the cases.Methods: This is a retrospective study performed on athletes who applied our hospital ; between January 2014-2019 with neck pain and have MR imaging of the cervical spine. Cervical MR images of the patients were evaluated by an experienced radiologist from the hospital system database and archives. 79 cases (52 men and 27 women) were included in the study.Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the facet joint angles of both groups at all levels (p˃0.05). Only left C6_7 disc angles of CDH group were measured as 92.99 ± 10.77 (62-113) and 88.58 ± 7.65 (67-110) for the normal group and this difference was found statistically significant (p = 0.007) . After the weight variable was taken under control, the C6-7 L value of the CDH group was found to be 92,673 and the normal group value was 88,916 (CDH group values ​​without the weight control were 92.99 normal group value 88.58) and the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.17).Conclusion: In this study, we did not predict that cervical facet tropism may be a factor associated with cervical disc hernia in young athletes with CDH.