Association of low back pain with neck pain
Associations of low back pain with neck pain A study of industrial employees with 5, 10, and 28 year follow-ups
From: Eur J Pain. 2008 Jun 19; [Epub ahead of print]
Low back pain and neck pain are common among the adult population but relatively few reports exist on the associations between these. We examined cross-sectional and prospective relationships of low back pain with neck pain in an employee cohort studied repeatedly over 28 years. Locally perceived pain was studied separately from pain with a radiating component. At baseline, adjusted for age, gender, and occupational class, the prevalence ratio of local neck pain for those with local low back pain was 1.93, and for those with radiating low back pain 2.16, while the prevalence ratio of radiating neck pain for those with local low back pain was 1.51 and for those with radiating low back pain 3.24. These associations remained stable at the 5, 10, and 28 year follow-ups. Both local and radiating low back pain at baseline predicted new cases of radiating neck pain at the 5 and 10 year follow-ups, but not at the 28 year follow-up. In analyses stratified by gender, both the cross-sectional and prospective associations were more pronounced in men. The study showed a clear association of low back pain with neck pain that persisted on a similar level irrespective of the aging of the cohort. Particularly, radiating low back pain was associated with radiating neck pain. The prospective associations of low back pain at baseline with new reports of radiating neck pain decreased as the length of follow-up increased.
