ARM MOTION SPEED AND RISK OF NECK PAIN - A PRELIMINARY COMMUNICATION

Study Design. A sample of 486 Helsinki City Council workers, 35 to 54 years of age, was examined twice at a 1-year interval. Objectives. To investigate the speed of repetitive arm motion for its ability to pred ict neck pain. Summary of Background Data. Psychomotor factors have be en suggested to play a role in the etiology of spinal disorders. It wa s hypothesized that motor skills, as reflected by arm motion speed, co uld provide protection against neck pain. Methods. Both the baseline a nd follow-up examinations consisted of a questionnaire on the history of neck pain and of a number of tests, including arm motion speed and static and dynamic strength of the upper extremities. Results. Of the 124 men and women who reported not having had neck pain during the 1 y ear before the baseline examination, 23 (19%) reported neck pain on re examination. The incidence of neck pain was significantly higher both in the least and most rapid quintiles of arm motion speed than in the medium quintiles. This association was not confounded by age, sex, smo king, physical activity at work or at leisure, psychological distress score, or strength measures of the upper extremities, although these f actors were significant covariates of the arm motion speed at baseline . When adjusted for these factors, the odds ratios of neck pain in the most and least rapid quintiles of arm motion speed were 8.68 (95% con fidence interval 1.85-40.75) and 9.57 (95% con confidence interval 2.2 1-41.52) respectively, compared with the medium quintiles. Conclusions . These results suggest that people with either very slow or very rapi d arm motion speed may have an increased risk of neck pain. The etiolo gy of neck pain is probably different on these two occasions.