Psychosocial Factors Associated With Neck Pain and Disability Outcomes

Psychosocial Factors Associated With Neck Pain and Disability Outcomes
December 2006
Chiropractic Research Review

in a recent study, a group of 336 patients from the UCLA Neck Pain Study were examined in order to estimate the associations of psychosocial factors with pain and disability outcomes. Patients were randomized to one of eight modes of chiropractic treatment, noted by the authors as "the most common types of care delivered by chiropractors in the U.S. and consistent with guidelines for quality chiropractic practice."

Health status and psychosocial variables were measured at baseline. Changes in neck pain severity and disability at months were the primary outcome variables.

Coping strategies involving self-assurance resulted in better disability outcomes, whereas getting angry or frustrated resulted in worse pain and disability outcomes. Participants with high levels of social support from friends and family were more likely to experience clinically meaningful reductions in pain and disability. Results suggest that certain coping strategies and types of social support are associated with better pain and disability outcomes in a population of subacute and chronic neck-pain patients.

Hurwitz EL, Goldstein MS, Morgenstern H, Chiang LM. The impact of psychosocial factors on neck pain and disability outcomes among primary care patients: results from the UCLA Neck Pain Study. Disability and Rehabilitation, Nov. 15, 2006;28(21):1319-29.