Risk Factors for Disabling and Nondisabling Neck Pain in a Large Cohort of Adolescents

Abstract

Objectives: Neck pain is extremely common and represents a substantial economic burden to our society. We aimed to investigate risk factors for nondisabling and disabling neck pain in a large cohort of Italian adolescents with a cross-sectional study.

Design: Six thousand two hundred eighty-one students (14-19 yrs old) answered an online questionnaire, investigating the following: anthropometric data, lifestyle-related items, neck pain frequency and intensity, need for medical examination, and several risk factors. Students who had to give up social activities because of neck complaints constituted the disabling neck pain group.

Results: Our findings revealed that sex, age, sports practice, hours of sleep, and family history were risk factors ( P < 0.001) for neck pain in our cohort. Moreover, disabling neck pain group experienced neck pain more frequently ( P < 0.001) and with higher levels of pain ( P < 0.001) compared with the nondisabling group. The number of hours of sleep was the only risk factor that showed a trend to differ comparing the disabling neck pain group with the nondisabling neck pain one ( P = 0.057).

Conclusions: Different risk factors for neck pain were detected in a very large cohort of adolescents. This study may pave the way for future prospective studies and for the development of preventive strategies for neck pain in adolescents.

To claim cme credits: Complete the self-assessment activity and evaluation online at http://www.physiatry.org/JournalCME.

Cme objectives: Upon completion of this article, the reader should be able to: (1) Identify different risk factors for neck pain in adolescents; (2) Determine the differences between adolescents with nondisabling neck pain and disabling neck pain; and (3) Recognize that most risk factors for disabling neck pain are still unknown, but insufficient sleep quantity could potentially contribute to the development of this condition.

Level: Advanced.

Accreditation: The Association of Academic Physiatrists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.The Association of Academic Physiatrists designates this Journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.