Psychosocial, Physical, and Neurophysiological Risk Factors for Chronic Neck Pain: A Prospective Inception Cohort Study
Two articles on PainSci cite Shahidi 2015: 1. Anxiety & Chronic Pain 2. The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks
PainSci notes on Shahidi 2015:
In 2012, Paksaichol et al convincingly concluded that there was still an absence of evidence that neck pain is caused by any psychological factor. Three years later, this study was published: the first direct and reasonably high quality evidence that depression does cause neck pain. It is not perfect — it’s not a very powerful experiment (a bit small) — but at least it was the right type of study, looking at the right things. 171 healthy office workers were quizzed for a year, identifying three risk factors: depression, poor neck muscle endurance, and low pain tolerance.
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
The purpose of this investigation was to identify modifiable risk factors for the development of first-onset chronic neck pain among an inception cohort of healthy individuals working in a high-risk occupation. Candidate risk factors identified from previous studies were categorized into psychosocial, physical, and neurophysiological domains, which were assessed concurrently in a baseline evaluation of 171 office workers within the first 3 months of hire. Participants completed monthly online surveys over the subsequent year to identify the presence of chronic interfering neck pain, defined as a Neck Disability Index score ≥5 points for 3 or more months. Data were analyzed using backward logistic regression to identify significant predictors within each domain, which were then entered into a multivariate regression model adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Development of chronic interfering neck pain was predicted by depressed mood (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-10.31, P = .03), cervical extensor endurance (OR = .92, 95% CI, .87-.97, P = .001), and diffuse noxious inhibitory control (OR = .90, 95% CI, .83-.98, P = .02) at baseline. These findings provide the first evidence that individuals with preexisting impairments in mood and descending pain modulation may be at greater risk for developing chronic neck pain when exposed to peripheral nociceptive stimuli such as that produced during muscle fatigue.
PERSPECTIVE: Depressed mood, poor muscle endurance, and impaired endogenous pain inhibition are predisposing factors for the development of new-onset chronic neck pain of nonspecific origin in office workers. These findings may assist with primary prevention by allowing clinicians to screen for individuals at risk of developing chronic neck pain.
related content
- “Physical risk factors for developing non-specific neck pain in office workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Jun et al, Int Arch Occup Environ Health, 2017.
- “Office workers' risk factors for the development of non-specific neck pain: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies,” Paksaichol et al, Occup Environ Med, 2012.
- “Perceived muscular tension predicts future neck-shoulder and arm-wrist-hand symptoms,” Huysmans et al, Occup Environ Med, 2012.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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