Longneck - Longitudinal observation on neck pain

Neck pain-associated disorders (NAD) are major health problems. NAD has a lifetime prevalence of 54%. Although the majority of patients recover within the first three months, a minority develops persistent pain. Patients with chronic symptoms represent a considerable burden in terms of pain, suffering, health care needs, and social costs. Findings on the natural course of NAD reflect the necessity to identify factors besides pain related to the persistence of symptoms. First, alterations in the input and processing of multiple sensory modalities can cause movement control impairment, resulting in persistent symptoms and affecting quality of life. Besides, findings of psychosocial factors predictive of pain outcomes support the growing body of research proposing a bidirectional relationship between somatic and psychosocial variables. In particular, there is a pressing need to investigate pain-related activity patterns, in addition to fear-avoidance behavior, in NAD. Maladaptive activity patterns have an impact on pain and disability in the long-term prognosis. The prospective study assessed clinical and cognitive-behavioral data at four time points (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) after the onset of pain. The study investigated sensorimotor functioning and cognitive-behavioral variables in NAD using state-of-the-art clinical assessments and questionnaires administered via an online survey. We aimed to gain insights into the time-related processes of NAD, driven by changes in sensory processing and movement performance, and their interactions with cognitive-behavioral factors. The prospective approach sheds light on time-dependent processes during the transition from acute to a persistent pain state. The proposed research was user-driven and has the potential to be translated into a target-group-oriented assessment and treatment of NAD by a variety of health care professionals.