Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients in the four neck pain subgroups
All participants | Local np | Np + arm pain above elbow | Np + arm pain below elbow | Np + nerve root involvement | P-values across subgroups significant pair-wise comparisons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n = 2,330 | n = 179 | n = 298 | n = 501 | n = 874 | ||
Females % (95%CI) | 61 (59–63) | 65 (58–72) | 67 (62–72) | 66 (62–70) | 60 (57–64) | p = .07 |
Age in years mean (SD) | 49 (13) | 48 (17) | 48 (13) | 49 (12) | 49 (11) | P = .70 |
Duration,% (95%CI) | p < .01 | |||||
0-3 months | 16 (15 – 18) | 6 (3 – 11) | 10 (7 – 14) | 14 (11 – 17) | 25 (22 – 28) | local vs. below |
3-12 months | 36 (34 – 38) | 41 (34 – 49) | 37 (32 – 43) | 36 (32 – 40) | 35 (32 – 38) | NRI vs. all |
>12 months | 48 (46 – 50) | 52 (45 – 60) | 53 (47 – 59) | 50 (46 – 54) | 41 (37 – 44) | |
Previous episodes | 55 (53 – 57) | 44 (36 – 51) | 58 (52 – 63) | 59 (55 – 63) | 57 (54 – 61) | p < .01 |
% (95%CI)* | local vs. all | |||||
Neck pain intensity median | 6 (5 –8) | 6 (5–7) | 6 (5 – 8) | 6 (4 – 8) | 6 (5 – 8) | p < .04 |
(IQR) | local vs. NRI | |||||
Arm pain intensity | 5 (2 – 7) | 0 (0 – 0) | 5 (2 – 6) | 6 (4 – 8) | 6 (4 – 8) | p < .01 * |
median (IQR) | above vs. below | |||||
above vs. NRI | ||||||
Activity limitation | 21 (14 – 27) | 16 (12 – 22) | 21 (14 – 26) | 21 (14 – 27) | 22 (15 – 28) | p < .01 |
median (IQR) | local vs. all | |||||
Pain irritability | 74 (72 – 75) | 61 (53 – 68) | 71 (66 – 76) | 79 (75 – 82) | 77 (74 – 79) | p < .01 |
% (95%CI) | local vs. all | |||||
above vs. below | ||||||
Whiplash % (95%CI) | 20 (19 – 22) | 22 (16 – 30) | 22 (17 – 29) | 22 (17 – 27) | 17 (14 – 19) | P = .07 |
Depression % (95%CI) | 16 (15 – 18) | 13 (9 – 19) | 18 (14 – 23) | 14 (11 – 17) | 17 (15 – 20) | P = .20 |
Fear of movement | 5 (1 – 7) | 3 (1 – 6) | 5 (2 – 7) | 5 (1 – 7) | 5 (2 – 7) | p < .01 |
median (IQR) | local vs. all | |||||
General health mean (SD) | 50 (24) | 56 (23) | 51 (23) | 48 (25) | 48 (24) | p < .01 local vs. all |
Any sick leave in last 3 months# % (95%CI) | 49 (47 – 51) | 44 (36 – 53) | 44 (38 – 51) | 49 (44 – 54) | 52 (48 – 56) | P = .10 |
Amount of repetitive work load median (IQR) | 3 (0 – 7) | 2 (0 – 5) | 3 (0 – 7) | 4 (1 – 7) | 3 (0 – 6) | P = .40 |
Work time with head forward median (IQR) | 4 (2 – 6) | 4 (2 – 6) | 4 (2 – 5) | 5 (2 – 7) | 4 (2 – 6) | P = .05 |