A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH ACUTE BACK AND NECK PAIN IN SWEDEN

Background and Purpose. This community-based investigation studied pat ients with acute back/neck pain and prospectively examined risk factor s for chronic pain. Subjects. One hundred twenty residents (64 men, 56 women) of a rural community in Sweden who were off work or bad been e xamined by a physician because of acute low back/neck pain during a 1- year period were randomly selected to participate in the study Methods . All subjects were examined by a physical therapist and completed que stionnaires relating to their functional ability during activities of daily living. The subjects were then prospectively followed to examine treatment content and possible factors for predicting the development of chronic pain. Results. The most common symptom was a dull ache (44 %), mostly in the low back (56%). In spite of early care, 16 patients who were randomly selected for further study developed chronic pain du ring the follow-up year The patients with chronic pain did not differ from those without chronic pain in age, amount of pain, or handicaps. The risk of developing chronic pain, however, was nearly five times hi gher for those patients whose pain was provoked by trunk movements in several directions at the first clinical examination. When signs of po ssible nerve root affection were present, the risk for chronic pain de velopment was nearly eight times higher. Conclusion and Discussion. Th ese results suggest that more attention may need to be paid to patient s with these risk factors, so that effective preventive measures may b e developed.