The Characteristic of Pain and Disability among Patients with Neck Pain in Nepal: A Study in a Tertiary Hospital.

Abstract

Background Neck pain is a major public health problem and found to be associated with people who have low income, low educational levels, and occupational activities that involve strenuous, manual labor work. Agriculture is the main occupation for the majority of the Nepalese population and they are potentially exposed to these risk factors. Hence, it is important to explore the characteristics of neck pain among the Nepalese population. Objective To explore characteristics of socio-demographic, pain and disability among the Nepalese population with neck pain. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling in Dhulikhel Hospital from February 2019 to April 2019. Patients with neck pain, aged > 18 years were included in the study. Information on age, sex, marital status, occupation, educational status, income, and working hours were collected from the patients. Nepali versions of the Neck Disability Index and Numerical Pain Rating Scale were used to assess disability and pain intensity respectively. Result Among 120 participants, 88 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 41.38 (SD 15.26) and the majority (72%) were females. The majority were uneducated (35.2%) and unemployed (64. 8%). The mean score of pain in the past 24 hours was 6.48 (SD 1.28). The majority had a mild disability (55.7%) followed by moderate disability (43.2%). Conclusion Neck pain is common among women, the middle-aged population, and patients with a poor level of education and income. The patients reported moderate neck pain with mild to moderate disability. The results of our study highlighted the importance of implementing screening measures to enable the timely identification and treatment of neck pain, especially among high-risk individuals. This would prevent or minimize the development of disability associated with neck pain.