• Ian A Harris, Jane M Young, Hamish Rae, Bin B Jalaludin, and Michael J Solomon.
• Orthopaedic Department, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, NSW, Australia. ian.harris@sswahs.nsw.gov.au.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg S. 2008 Oct 1;34(5):498-503.

AbstractNeck pain after physical trauma is common; but previous research regarding the role of psychological and physical predictors for neck pain is inconsistent. A retrospective survey of consecutive patients presenting to a metropolitan trauma centre with major accidental trauma was performed between 1 and 6 years post injury. Possible predictor variables (demographic, injury severity, and psychosocial factors) were determined from the hospital trauma registry and the questionnaire. The main outcome was a combined score of neck pain severity and functional limitation. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to develop a predictive model for neck pain. A multivariate analysis of 355 patients showed that neck pain was not significantly associated with measures of injury severity. Neck pain was significantly more likely to be severe in patients with a cervical spine fracture, with pre-existing chronic illnesses, those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of follow up, those who had retained the services of a lawyer regarding the injury, and those with lower education levels. Psychosocial factors are important predictors of neck pain after major physical trauma. These findings do not support models for post-traumatic neck pain that are restricted to physical factors.

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