The relation between pain extent and quality-of-life, psychological factors and neck funktion in patients with chronic neck pain

Inge Ris Hansen, Marco Barbero, Deborah Falla, Mads Holst Larsen, Martin Nielsen Kraft, Karen Søgaard, Birgit Juul-Kristensen

Research output: Contribution to conference without publisher/journalPosterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Neck pain is a common disease ranking 4th highest as years lived with disability according to Global Burden of Disease 2010. Patients with chronic neck pain often present with a variety of other symptoms. Some of these may depend upon the origin being traumatic or not. Pain drawings are used widely clinically in the initial phase of assessment of neck pain patients. Pain drawing is a method of gathering data, the pain area, regarding patients’ pain extent. The drawing represents the patient’s perception of pain localisation and pain extent. Pain areas may represent psychological factors and/or decreased function of the involved body parts. Purpose: To study the relation between pain extent with 1) quality of life, 2) kinesiophobia, depression, 3) cervical muscle function and mobility and additionally the relation of pain extent with the origin of pain being traumatic or non-traumatic in chronic neck pain patients. Methods: In this correlation-study patients from primary and secondary healthcare locations with chronic neck pain (200) with traumatic or non-traumatic origin participated. Participants completed pain drawings, as well as questionnaires: Short Form 36 (SF36), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-ll), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and clinical tests: Craniocervical Flexion Test (CCFT), Cervical Extension Test (CE), and Cervical Range of Motion (CROM). Results: Significant positive correlations were observed between pain extent and NDI (r = 0.33; p<0.001), TSK (r=0.21; p=0.012) and BDI-II (r=0.29; p<0.001), in addition to significant negative correlations of pain extent to CCFT (r=-0.24; p=0.001) and CE (r=-0.19; p=0.006). Correlations between pain extent and SF-36 or CROM were non-significant, and there was no difference in pain extent related to the origin being traumatic or non-traumatic. Conclusion: Pain extent extracted from pain drawings are moderately correlated with patient-reported neck function, and weakly correlated with depression, kinesiophobia and cervical clinical tests. In clinical decision-making, pain extent may indicate reduced neck function and be a sign for possible depression, kinesiophobia and poor cervical muscle function in chronic neck pain patients of both traumatic and non-traumatic origin. Implications: Pain extent from pain drawings of this group of patients does weakly relate to psychological factors, muscle function, but more moderately to self-reported neck function. For the clinician, information gained from pain drawings can indicate the need for assessing these factors with a more in-depth examination. Pain drawings may therefore assist in guiding and targeting the clinical assessment. Therefore, use of pain drawings in clinical assessment may be relevant as part of the clinical decision-making process and be used for generating clinical hypotheses as part of the functional assessment, and in conjunction with other relevant outcomes. Funding Acknowledgements: This study received funding from the Research Fund of the Region of Southern Denmark, the Danish Rheumatism Association, the Research Foundation of the Danish Association of Physiotherapy, Fund for Physiotherapy in Private Practice, and the Danish Society of Polio and Accident Victims (PTU). Ethics Approval: The trial was registered in www.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01431261. The Regional Scientific Ethics Committee of Southern Denmark approved the study (S-20100069). The study conformed to The Declaration of Helsinki 2008 [39] by fulfilling all general ethical recommendations. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared Keywords: Chronic neck pain, pain drawing, quality of life
Translated title of the contributionRelationen mellem smerteudbredelse og livskvalitet, psykologiske faktorer og nakkefunktion hos patienter med kroniske nakkemserter.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date2016
Number of pages1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
EventIFOMPT: The International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists - Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 4. Jul 20168. Jul 2016

Conference

ConferenceIFOMPT
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
Period04/07/201608/07/2016

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