Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2011 , Vol 57 , Num 2

Relationship Between Lumbar Disc Herniation and Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome

İlknur Aktaş 1 ,Demet Ofluoğlu 2 ,Kenan AKGÜN 3
1 Fatih Sultan Mehmet Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
2 Başkent Üniverstesi Tıp Fakültesi İstanbul Hastanesi, İstanbul, Türkiye
3 Arnavutköy Devlet Hastanesi, Radyoloji Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
DOI : 10.4274/tftr.57.17

Objective: Benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) can present with a wide variety of musculoskeletal problems. Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a common cause of low back pain. On the other hand, low back pain may be a presenting symptom in patients with BJHS. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between BJHS and LDH.

 

Materials and Methods: The study included 184 patients diagnosed with LDH. All patients were assessed for existing hypermobility using the revised (Brighton 1998) criteria. 

 

Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.9±11.6 years (range: 18-76 years); 50 (27.2%) were male and 134 (72.8%) female. The mean Beighton score was 2.04±2.2. Out of 184 cases, 123 (68.4%) had hypermobility according to the revised Brighton criteria. In addition, there was a positive correlation between LDH and BJHS (r=0.15, p=0.0018).

 

Conclusion: We suggest that BJHS may be a risk factor for LHD. As such, BJHS may be considered a concomitant problem in patients with low back pain due to LDH. 

Keywords : Benign joint hypermobility syndrome, Beighton score, Brighton criteria, lumbar disc herniation, low back pai