Association between Kinesiophobia, Anxiety, and Chronic Neck Pain among Computer Programmers in Bangalore

Abstract

Abstract Background  Owing to progress in information and communication technology, use of computers has been increased in developed nations. Neck discomfort is known to have psychological effect that makes daily life challenging and contributes toward persistence. To create an effective, reliable rehabilitation plan and improve the existing protocols available for the patients, the proposed study attempted to address the subject of the association between kinesiophobia, anxiety, and chronic neck pain. Objective  The aim of this study was to find the association between kinesiophobia, anxiety, and severe neck pain among computer programmers. Method  After getting the consent, 388 subjects based on selection criteria were recruited from various information technology industries in Bangalore. Then, the subjects underwent a check for neck pain using Nordic Musculoskeletal questionnaires that were divided into case and control groups, respectively. Subjects were thereafter assessed for kinesiophobia and anxiety using Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia and Penn State Worry Questionnaire, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the collected data using SPSS software. Results  Out of 388 participants, the neck pain prevalence was found to be 68.80%. The result shows that the mean and standard deviation for kinesiophobia and anxiety score was 43.47 ± 16.132 and 47.15 ± 22.799 for case group, respectively, whereas for control group, it was 22.40 ± 6.470 and 21.92 ± 9.656, respectively. Significant association between kinesiophobia anxiety and long-term neck pain in computer programmers that shows p-value less than 0.05 was detected with chi-squared test. Conclusion  There was positive association seen in kinesiophobia and anxiety among computer programmers with persistent neck pain.