ABSTRACT

Introduction: Chronic neck pain is a major challenge of modern society and is one of the common musculoskeletal disorders that can lead to chronic disability and impair the emotional state of the individual.

Aim: To determine the connection between the disability and emotional state in individuals with chronic neck pain.

Materials and methods: The sample of participants in the research was 50, both sexes, aged 18 to 65 years with a diagnosis of chronic neck pain. The questionnaire used to measure the level of disability was Neck Disability Index, while the DASS 21 scale was used to assess the emotional state of the subjects and Pain level was mesuerd with the Visual Analogue Scale.

Results: The results of this research indicate statistical significance between disability and depression (p=0.017), disability and anxiety (p=0.005), disability and stress (p=0.033). There is statistical significance between gender and disability (p=0.001), specifically for men in the category of mild disability compared to other categories, while for women there is statistical significance in the category of moderate disability. A positive correlation was detected between all the observed variables. The highest positive correlations were recorded between disability and anxiety (ρ=0.555), level of chronic pain and disability (ρ=0.599) and disability and depression (ρ=0.486).

Conclusion: The results indicate the need for a biopsychosocial approach in the treatment of chronic neck pain.

Key words: emotional state, chronic pain, disability, cervical spine