Epidemiology of Neck Pain

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What is Neck Pain?[edit | edit source]

Neck Pain is defined as "pain in the neck with or without pain referred into one or both upper limbs that lasts for at least one day"[1]

Neck pain occurs commonly throughout the world and causes substantial disability and economic cost. The pain and disability associated with neck pain have a large impact on individuals and their families, communities, healthcare systems and businesses[2].

The Global Burden of Neck Pain[edit | edit source]

Out of all 291 conditions studied in the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study, neck pain ranked 4th highest in terms of disability as measured by YLDs, and 21st in terms of overall burden[1][2]. From 1990-2010 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) increased from 23.9 million in 1990 to 33.6 million (47%). This has been attributed to population growth (30%) and population ageing (17%). DALYs due to neck pain are higher in women than in men and highest in the 40–45 years age group.

With improved child survival and ageing populations throughout the world, especially in low- income and middle-income countries, the number of people experiencing neck pain is likely to increase substantially over the coming decades[2].

Prevalence[edit | edit source]

The global prevalence of neck pain in 2010 was 4.9%[1]. It was higher in women than in men, more prevalent in high income regions and peaks at around 45 years of age[2].

Relevance to Physiotherapy[edit | edit source]

Although most acute episodes resolve spontaneously, more than a third of affected people still have low grade symptoms or recurrences more than one year later[3]. For managing neck pain the strongest evidence is for exercise[3]. Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists have a detailed understanding of the cervical spine, related pain mechanisms and exercise prescription which makes them well placed to be the experts to help individuals with neck pain return to normal function, therefore reducing this global burden of neck pain.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wang, H., Naghavi, M., Allen, C., Barber, R.M., Bhutta, Z.A., Carter, A., Casey, D.C., Charlson, F.J., Chen, A.Z., Coates, M.M. and Coggeshall, M., 2016. GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015Lancet388(10053), pp.1459-1544.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Damian Hoy, Lyn March, Anthony Woolf, Fiona Blyth, Peter Brooks, Emma Smith, Theo Vos, Jan Barendregt, Jed Blore, Chris Murray, Roy Burstein, Rachelle Buchbinder. The global burden of neck pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Ann Rheum Dis 2014;73:1309–1315
  3. 3.0 3.1 Cohen SP, Hooten WM. Advances in the diagnosis and management of neck pain. BMJ. 2017 Aug 14;358:j3221.