Socio-Demographic and Physical Factors Associated with Disability in Adults with Non- Specific Chronic Neck Pain

Background: Insomnia is highly prevalent among people with chronic pain conditions. Because insomnia has been shown to worsen pain, mood, and physical functioning, it could negatively impact the clinical outcomes of patients with chronic pain. Objective: To determine the risk factors associated with clinical insomnia in chronic neck pain (CNP) patients. Study Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: Outpatient department for interventional pain management at a university hospital. Methods: Data from 218 CNP patients were analyzed in this study. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to determine the presence of clinical insomnia (ISI score ≥ 15). Patient demographics and pain-related factors were evaluated with logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors of clinical insomnia in CNP. Results: In total, 53.7% of patients reported mild to severe insomnia after neck pain development; 22.9% of patients met the criteria for clinically significant insomnia (ISI score ≥ 15). In multivariate analysis, high pain intensity, the presence of comorbid musculoskeletal pain, and a high level of depression were strongly associated with clinical insomnia in patients with CNP. Among these factors, a greater level of depression was the strongest predictor of clinical insomnia, with the highest odds ratio of 3.689 (95% CI 1.570 – 8.667). Limitations: This study was conducted in a single clinical setting including a selected study population with a homogeneous racial background. The ISI does not include several sleep-related variables, the roles of which are unknown in determining insomnia severity. Conclusions: Insomnia should be addressed as an indispensable part of pain management in CNP patients with these risk factors, especially depression. Key words: Chronic neck pain, insomnia, risk factors, pain severity, neuropathic pain, musculoskeletal pain, depression

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Prognostic factors for the improvement of pain and disability following multidisciplinary rehabilitation in patients with chronic neck pain

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽

10.1186/s12891-021-04194-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Martin Weigl ◽

Josefine Letzel ◽

Felix Angst

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Prognostic Factors ◽

Neck Pain ◽

Short Form ◽

Psychosocial Rehabilitation ◽

Chronic Neck Pain ◽

Rehabilitation Programme ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Pain Disability

Abstract Background Recent clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of specific, multidisciplinary, bio-psychosocial, rehabilitation programmes for chronic neck pain. However, prognostic factors for the improvement of pain and disability are mostly unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore prognostic factors associated with improvements in chronic neck pain following participation in a three-week, multidisciplinary, bio-psychosocial, rehabilitation programme. Methods In this observational, prospective cohort study, a total of 112 patients were assessed at the beginning, end, and 6 months following the completion of a multidisciplinary, bio-psychosocial, rehabilitation programme. Inclusion for participation in the rehabilitation programme depended upon an interdisciplinary pain assessment. The primary outcome was neck pain and disability, which was measured using the Northern American Spine Society questionnaire for pain+disability and was quantified with effect sizes (ES). Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to explore potential prognostic factors associated with improvements in pain and disability scores at discharge and at the 6-month follow-up period. Results The mean age of the patients was 59.7 years (standard deviation = 10.8), and 70.5% were female. Patients showed improvement in pain+disability at discharge (ES = 0.56; p < 0.001), which was sustained at the 6-month follow-up (ES = 0.56; p < 0.001). Prognostic factors associated with improvement in pain+disability scores at discharge included poor pain+disability baseline scores (partial, adjusted correlation r = 0.414, p < 0.001), older age (r = 0.223, p = 0.024), a good baseline cervical active range-of-motion (ROM) (r = 0.210, p < 0.033), and improvements in the Short-form 36 mental health scale (r = 0.197; p = 0.047) and cervical ROMs (r = 0.195, p = 0.048) from baseline values. Prognostic factors associated with improvements in pain+disability at the 6-month follow-up were similar and included poor pain+disability baseline scores (partial, adjusted correlation r = 0.364, p < 0.001), improvements in the Short-form 36 mental health scale (r = 0.232; p = 0.002), cervical ROMs (r = 0.247, p = 0.011), and better cervical ROM baseline scores. However, older age was not a factor (r = 0.134, p = 0.172). Conclusions Future prognostic models for treatment outcomes in chronic neck pain patients should consider cervical ROM and mental health status. Knowledge of prognostic factors may help in the adoption of individualized treatment for patients who are less likely to respond to multidisciplinary rehabilitation.

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