An Overview of Neck Pain in Wheelchair Users

This page will be discussing Neck Pain (acute, sub-acute or chronic) with MSK characteristics as a result of becoming a wheelchair user.

Wheelchair Users as a population[edit | edit source]

There are approximately 1.2million wheelchair users in the UK. There are a variety of different types of wheelchairs, such as self propelled, assistant propelled and Electric powered wheelchairs. Usage Varies from daily use to competitive use. (NHS England, 2014)[1]

Prevalence of pain in Wheelchair Users[edit | edit source]

General Pain[edit | edit source]

A qualitative study interviewed 64 electric powered wheelchair users about the experiences of their pain:

  • 86% of participants experienced pain related to sitting in past or present wheelchairs
  • 59% felt their pain was influenced by their Electric Powered Indoor/outdoor Wheelchair 
  • 17% reported experiencing severe pain 
  1. NHS England. (2014). Improving Wheelchair Services. Available: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wheelchair-services/. Last accessed 22nd May 2019.​