Abstract
BackgroundSeveral tests have been suggested to assess the isometric endurance of the cervical flexor (NFME) and extensors (NEE) muscles. This study proposes to determine whether neck flexors endurance is related to extensor endurance, and whether cervical muscle endurance is related to disability, pain amount and pain stage in subjects with neck pain.MethodsThirty subjects (18 women, 12 men, mean ± SD age: 43 ± 12 years) complaining of neck pain filled out the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Neck Pain and Disability Scale-Italian version (NPDS-I). They also completed the timed endurance tests for the cervical muscles.ResultsThe mean endurance was 246.7 ± 150 seconds for the NEE test, and 44.9 ± 25.3 seconds for the NMFE test. A significant correlation was found between the results of these two tests (r = 0.52, p = 0.003). A positive relationship was also found between VAS and NPDS-I (r = 0.549, p = 0.002). The endurance rates were similar for acute/subacute and chronic subjects, whereas males demonstrated significantly higher values compared to females in NFME test.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that neck flexors and extensors endurance are correlated and that the cervical endurance is not significantly altered by the duration of symptoms in subjects with neck pain.
Highlights
Neck pain (NP) is a condition that is becoming more and more widespread and its associated economic and social costs are ever-increasing [1]
The purpose of this study was to investigate the isometric endurance of the neck extensor and neck flexor muscles in subjects complaining of acute, subacute or chronic NP, to determine whether there was any relationship between neck flexor muscle endurance, neck extensor muscle endurance, amount of pain and disability, and between endurance and duration of pain
History-taking, and filling out a body chart, three of these subjects were excluded from the study: two of them had shoulder pain without cervical involvement, and one subject suffered from a genetic disease affecting the face and shoulder girdle musculature (FSH Dystrophy)
Summary
Neck pain (NP) is a condition that is becoming more and more widespread and its associated economic and social costs are ever-increasing [1]. Some psychosocial factors are considered as the strongest prognostic factors for NP and contributing factors for slower or less complete recovery [3] and persistent pain [4]. These factors influence the perception of pain and disability and decrease the self-efficacy perception [5]. In many cervical conditions such as whiplash associated disorders (WAD) or cervicogenic headache, a dysfunction of deep cervical flexors (DCF) such as longus colli and longus capitis can be found [6,7]. This study proposes to determine whether neck flexors endurance is related to extensor endurance, and whether cervical muscle endurance is related to disability, pain amount and pain stage in subjects with neck pain
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