Specific neck pain algometric measurements and their relation to heart rate and skin humidity

Cervical pain is very common in general population but only few methods have been used to evaluate it with objectiveness. There are only few studies which use algometer as a means of neck pain assessment. Studies have shown that algometer could be used in pain evaluation but more studies are necessary to support this. The main purpose of the study was the evaluation of algometer as a means of an objective measurement of pain threshold to people with non-specific neck pain. The study focused on the search of correlation between neck pain and pain pressure threshold (PPT) after recording the number of the minimum pain feeling in the sample with the pressure of the algometer at specific neck points. The study also aimed at searching the correlation of neck pain with heart rate and skin humidity. This is a part of a cross-sectional study which was held during a PhD study which assessed 185 randomly chosen people, 20-60 years old, who visited all the Public Centers in the County of Thessaloniki. The sample was separated in two groups according to the frequency of their neck pain, those who suffered frequently or almost every day from non-specific neck pain (neck pain group) and those with non-specific neck pain occasionally, rarely or never suffered from it (no pain group). Subjects were randomly chosen from people who visited the Public Centers for any reason. Neck pain was strongly associated with PPT (P<0.001). Heart rate (P=0.216) and skin humidity (P=0.14) were not significantly related to neck pain. According to the results the algometer seems to be a useful tool as a mean of neck pain evaluation and algometry seems to enhance the idea of pain quantification. However more evidence is needed and more studies should be conducted in order to strengthen our results. Latter studies should be designed with more accuracy focusing on details in order to establish algometry as an objective method of pain evaluation.