Correlation with Daily Life, Physical Activity, Pain, and Degree of Disability of Office Workers with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to prepare evidence for the prevention and management of nonspecific chronic neck pain (NSCNP) by examining the correlation between activity of daily living and physical activities of office workers with NSCNP. Design: Crossed-sectional study Methods: 89 patients with NSCNP were recruited for this study. But 2 subjects met the exclusion criteria and were dropped out, and 86 subjects finally participated. Numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and neck disability index (NDI) were used to check the pain intensity and disability of patients with neck pain, respectively. For the activity of daily living, computer use time, sleep time, and driving time were used. To find out the physical activities of the subjects, International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ-SF) was used. Correlation analysis was performed to find out the correlation of each variable. Results: A clear positive correlation was established between computer use time and pain (p＜0.05), and a clear positive correlation was established between computer use time and disability index (p＜0.05). The correlation between NPRS and NDI and physical activity total time, high intensity activity score, moderate intensity activity score, and walking score were not statistically significant (p＞0.05). Conclusions: In treating patients with NSCNP, it is necessary to reduce the computer usage time as a professional factor or to educate the proper posture. In addition, rather than emphasizing physically comprehensive physical activity, grafting therapeutic exercise directly related to neck pain could have a more positive effect on NSCNP patients.