Impaired pulmonary function in patients with chronic neck pain

Background: Neck pain is a common problem in the medical practice, and the limited movement of the neck muscles can result in impaired chest movement. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between neck pain and pulmonary function using spirometry. Methods: We included 75 patients with chr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 123 - 128
Main Authors:	Mohamed Fawzi Awadallah, Eman Sobh, Mohamed Abdelhalim Shendy, Abdullah M Al-Shenqiti, Talal M Al-Jeraisi, Reda S Eweda
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 01-05-2021
Subjects:	chronic neck pain goniometer neck disability index pulmonary function tests visual analog pain scale
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Background: Neck pain is a common problem in the medical practice, and the limited movement of the neck muscles can result in impaired chest movement. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between neck pain and pulmonary function using spirometry. Methods: We included 75 patients with chronic neck pain and 75 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We performed spirometry and recorded forced-vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second of FVC (FEV1), forced expiratory flow at 25%–75% (FEF 25–75), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). We also measured the neck active range of motion in all positions (flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation) and administered the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain. Results: Neck movements were significantly limited in all directions in patients with chronic neck pain. Pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1, FEF25–75, and PEFR) was significantly lower, and FEV1/ FVC was significantly higher in the neck pain group compared with the control group. In the neck pain group, restrictive pattern in spirometry was found in 39 participants (52%). The pulmonary function parameters (FVC, FEV1, FEF25–75, and PEFR) had a significant positive linear relationship with neck movement and a significant negative linear relationship with VAS and NDI scores. Conclusions: Patients with chronic neck pain had limited pulmonary function, which was related to a limited range of cervical movement.
ISSN:	1011-4564
DOI:	10.4103/jmedsci.jmedsci_31_20