Chronic neck pain of traumatic and non-traumatic origin: a population-based study

Chronic neck pain is a common cause of disability. The effect of neck trauma on the development of chronic neck pain has been debated. In this population-based study, 8,356 persons (25-79 years) were randomly selected from a geographically well-defined area in northern Sweden. 6000 answered a self-administered questionnaire. We evaluated the data from all participants in the age range 25-64 years, a total of 4,392 persons. 18% reported chronic neck pain, defined as continuous pain of more than 6 months duration. 5% had a history of neck trauma and 13% had no such history. Of all patients with chronic neck pain, 30% had a history of neck injury. We divided all subjects with a chronic neck pain into two groups: those with or without a history of neck trauma. When studying the effect of sociodemographic data, self-perceived health and working conditions, multiple regression analysis showed that the trauma group consisted of significantly more younger men, who were more frequently on sick-leave and that their perceived health was worse than those without a neck injury. We found no significant differences concerning BMI, marital status, educational level, smoking habits, psychosocial work situation on the Karasek questionnaire or physical activity during leisure time or at work.