Relationships Between Cervical Range of Motion, Self-Rated Disability and Fear of Movement Beliefs in Chronic Neck Pain Patients

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the relationship between impairment [cervical ranges of motion [CROMs]], self-reported disability, and fear of movement beliefs in chronic neck pain patients.

Methods

Data was obtained from a convenience sample of chronic neck pain patients in private clinics. CROMs were obtained using a CROM device, self-rated disability was measured using the neck disability index [NDI], and fear of movement beliefs was measured using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia [TSK]. Age, gender, and duration of neck pain were also obtained. Bivariate and multivariate statistics were employed.

Results

Thirty-five participants with a mean age of 42.3 years and neck pain duration of 4.75 [4.61] years completed the study. The average scores for the outcome measures were: NDI = 26 percent, TSK = 51 percent, and total CROM = 288 degrees. The NDI correlated with the TSK at 0.50 [P  =  0.006]. The correlation between the NDI and total ROM was −0.58 [P  =  0.0003] while the correlation between total ROM and the TSK just failed to reach significance [−0.32; P =  0.06]. In the multivariate analysis, only the NDI loaded significantly onto the total ROM and explained 29 percent of the variance of ROM on its own.

Conclusion

In this study, self-rated disability in chronic neck pain patients was found to correlate with fear-avoidance beliefs and with a measure of impairment – ranges of motion in the cervical spine. When evaluating reductions in ranges of cervical motion in chronic neck pain patients, the effect of their self-ratings of disability should be considered.

Keywords:

• Neck disability index
• Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia
• cervical range of motion
• neck pain
• whiplash
• disability
• kinesiophobia

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Austin Rehabilitation clinics for their assistance with subject recruitment, CMCC for the loan of a CROM device [Maricelle Dinulos], and Anne Taylor-Vaisey for her assistance with our background literature reviews and researching.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

ERH has made substantial contributions to: design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content and have given final approval of the version to be published.

KH has made substantial contributions to: design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content and have given final approval of the version to be published.

HV has made substantial contributions to: design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content and have given final approval of the version to be published.

DS has made substantial contributions to: analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content and have given final approval of the version to be published.