A young man from Iran was seen having developed an alarming condition. His neck could no longer support his head. According to the medics, the man was an amphetamine user. The substance, also known as speed, would cause his chin to fall to his chest for prolonged periods of time which triggered a ‘fixed kyphotic neck position.’
He was left with an extreme bend in his neck after he regularly took a myriad of drugs, which included, among others, heroin, opium, and speed.
Doctors were trying to figure out whether the young man’s condition was due to his drug abuse.
They found out that before he began to abuse drugs, there were no indicators that he would develop such a condition.
Dr Majid Rezvan, co-author of the case study, said, “We discovered that drug abuse contributed to the uncommon development of severe complicated cervical kyphosis [excessive rounding of the upper back].’
“The drug does not have a direct effect on musculoskeletal changes,” he observed.
“Instead there is an indirect effect: when the patient uses the drug, they remain in a certain position for a long time, and over months this results in musculoskeletal changes that led to kyphoscoliosis,” he explained.
Dropped head syndrome is also known as floppy head syndrome and isContinue reading…
