Existence of Cervical Discopathy in Non-Cyclic Mastodynia

Mastodynia is a subjective symptom that impairs the quality of life. It may be directly related with breast disorders. Moreover, a substantial rate is caused of reflective pain.

Non-cyclic mastodynia is multifactorial, and treatment should be planned according to the underlying cause. In this study, we aim to evaluate the existence of cervical discopathy via cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the etiology of non-cyclic mastodynia.

The study included 60 patients with normal physical examination results and imaging findings. Management was determined individually in patients. Patients with pathological MRI findings were evaluated by physical therapy, rehabilitation, and neurosurgery specialists, and appropriate treatment was planned. Patients were evaluated with the visual analogue scale (VAS) scoring system at initial presentation and after 1 and 3 months of treatment.

The majority of patients had positive findings on MRI (53 [88.4%] vs. 7 [11.6%]). The mean VAS scores at the time of presentation, after 1, and after 3 months of treatment were 7.41, 6.39, and 3.35, respectively. The decrease in the scores was statistically significant (p ≤ 0,01).

We suggest that cervical discopathy should be kept in mind in cases of idiopathic non-cyclic mastodynia. Furthermore, cervical discopathy-related mastodynia seems to have a good response to appropriate treatment.