Chronic neck pain is associated with altered gait performance compared to healthy controls: Cross-sectional...

Chronic musculoskeletal pain negatively impacts gait performance, but the impact of neck pain on gait remains unclear. This study aimed to assess measures of gait (speed and variability) in individuals with chronic neck pain (CNP) compared to non-CNP controls across various walking conditions.

Sixty participants with CNP and 41 controls were recruited. Pain, disability, general health, and gait were measured. Gait outcomes included gait speed, stride time variability (STV), and a multi-component gait variability index (GVI) across four different walking conditions: quiet walk, cognitive task (i.e., serial sevens test), horizontal head turning, and vertical head turning. Linear regression models were used to obtain adjusted group means, difference of means, and 95 % confidence intervals for gait outcomes. Exploratory analyses assessed the relationship between CNP intensity and gait across conditions. All models adjusted for age and sex.

The CNP group (median age: 36.5 y, 75 % female) reported more pain, disability, pain medication use, and multisite pain (p < 0.001) than controls (median age: 32 y, 61 % female). CNP participants exhibited slower gait speed (mean difference -7.0 cm/s; 95 % CI: -15.0-0.10), greater STV (mean difference 0.43 %CV; 95 % CI: 0.05-0.89), and higher GVI (mean difference 4.16; 95 % CI: 0.03-8.46). While the negative effects of pain were present across walking conditions, the magnitude varied depending on the task and outcome measure.

CNP was associated with reduced gait speed and increased variability of walking patterns. Slight variations under different dual-task conditions suggest potential relationships between pain, mobility, and cognitive-motor coordination.