J Korean Pain Soc.
1999 Nov;12(2):231-234.
Atlanto-Axial Joint Block: Case reports
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Kangwon, Korea.
Abstract
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Until several years ago we didn't think seriously about cervical problems as a cause of
headaches, but since the publication of articles by Bogduk et al they have gotten more
attention. Cervical headaches are associated with movement abnormalities of the structures
of the neck such as cervical nerve roots, discs, joints and soft tissues. Considering this,
we thought that the atlanto-axial joint could be one of the causes of these headaches.
Headaches originating from this joint can be recognized by the fact that the pain worsens
with rotation of the head in the horizontal plane. Pain can also be referred to the frontal,
area or around the orbit. We did atlanto-axial joint blocks using a posterior approach
on 10 patients who suffered from this type of headache. The results were promising with 9 out
of 10 patients showing more than 50% improvement on the numeric rating scale. There were no
serious complications observed. We concluded that the atlanto-axial joint block can be an
effective procedure in treating this specific type of headache.