The influence of postural deformities on neck function and pain in patients with Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND: Trunk alignment is thought to contribute to neck function. However, this common assumption is not clear in patients with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) suffering from different postural deformities such as: Pisa syndrome (PS), Camptocormia & Antecollis (C&A). OBJECTIVES: to investigate the effect of different postural deformities including PS and C&A on neck function and pain in patient (PwPD). METHODS: Forty-five participants belonging to three groups: 15 PD patients without postural disorders (PD), 15 with PS, and 15 with C&A. The function, disability and pain were assessed by Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) which used to assess the pain severity (BPI-PS) and Pain Interference (BPI-PI). All groups completed clinical assessments by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Modified Hoenh & Yahr (mH&Y) staging and the Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose (LEDD). RESULTS: PD group compared with PS and C&A groups showed differences in NDI, BPI-PS, BPI-PI, LEDD and mH&Y staging (P < 0.001), but no differences found in PD duration, UPDRS-II and III in the same groups. Moreover, no differences were observed between PS and C&A groups in the mentioned scales. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that PS and C&A are associated with severe impairment of neck functions, and pain in PwPD.