ObjectiveTo analyze responsiveness of Chinese version of Neck Outcome Score (NOOS-C) and provide a reliable measure to assess intervention effect for patients with neck pain.MethodsCross-cultural adaptation of NOOS was performed according to the Beaton’s guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Eighty patients with neck pain were recruited between September 2016 and May 2017. Those patients were assessed using NOOS-C and Chinese version of Neck Disability Index (NDI) before and after intervention. And 71 patients completed those questionnaires. The statistic differences of the score of each subscale and the total scale before and after intervention were evaluated by paired-samples t test. Internal responsiveness was determined by effect size (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM) based on the calculated difference before and after intervention. External responsiveness was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient.ResultsThe differences in symptom subscale, sleep disturbance subscale, participating in everyday life subscale, every day activity and pain subscale, and the scale between before and after intervention were significant (P<0.05) except for mobility subscale (P>0.05). The difference of NDI-C before and after intervention was –12.11%±17.45%, ES was 0.77, and SRM was 0.69. The difference of NOOS-C before and after intervention was 13.74±17.22, ES was 0.83, and SRM was 0.80. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the relativity about NOOS-C and NDI-C before and after intervention were both negative (r=–0.914, P=0.000; r=–0.872, P=0.000).ConclusionNOOS-C’s responsiveness is good.
Non-specific neck pain is the most common type of neck pain. Without timely and effective treatment, majority of patients might develop chronic non-specific neck pain. In addition to pain, patients also suffer multiple dysfunctions. Considering the individual differences of patients, strategies of targeted exercise therapy based on the specific dysfunction of patients have attracted attention. In this paper, exercise therapies for common dysfunctions of patients with chronic non-specific neck pain, such as decreased mobility of cervical and thoracic spine, insufficient activation of deep cervical flexors, poor muscle strength and endurance, abnormal breathing pattern, and impaired proprioception are introduced, in order to provide clinical guidance for individual rehabilitation.
ObjectiveTo understand the cervical spine function, core stability and strength of fighter pilots, and to explore the difference of that between fighter pilots with and without neck pain.MethodsFrom October to December 2020, a double-blind design was used to test the cervical spine function, core stability and strength of fighter pilots of a certain part of the Air Force. At the same time, the area of deep cervical flexor and the thickness of transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles were measured. According to the presence or absence of neck pain in the last 3 months, they were divided into neck pain group and non-neck pain group. The cervical spine function, core stability and core strength, deep cervical flexor and transversus abdominis endurance of the two groups were compared and analyzed.ResultsA total of 38 pilots were included. There was no significant difference in age, body mass index, service life, flight time, total flight time and weekly flight time between the neck pain group and the non-neck pain group (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in cervical spine mobility between the two groups of pilots (P>0.05). The cervical flexor muscle strength [(15.5±4.9) vs. (12.1±3.0) N] and the ratio of cervical flexion/neck extension (0.6±0.1 vs. 0.5±0.1) in the non-neck pain group were higher than in the neck pain group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the muscle strength of other superficial cervical muscles between the two groups (P>0.05). The average value of deep neck flexor endurance in the neck pain group [25.36 mm Hg(1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa)] better than the non-neck pain group group (17.11 mm Hg) (P=0.026). There was no significant difference in test values of transverse abdominis endurance between the two groups (P>0.05). The left hip internal rotator strength [(11.9±2.6) vs. (10.0±2.1) N] and the left hip external rotator strength [(13.7±2.2) vs. (11.9±2.0) N] in the non-neck pain group were higher than in the neck pain group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the muscle strength of the other hip joint muscles between the two groups (P>0.05). The thickness of the right transversus abdominis in the neck pain group [(1.1±0.3) vs. (0.8±0.3) cm] was higher than that in the non-neck pain group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the thickness of the left transversus abdominis, the cross-sectional area of deep cervical flexor muscle and the thickness of lumbar multifidus muscle between the two groups (P>0.05).ConclusionsFighter pilots with neck pain have superficial cervical flexor muscle strength and decreased left hip internal and external rotation muscle strength, and the superficial cervical flexor and extensor muscle strength is unbalanced. Strengthening the superficial cervical flexor muscle strength, improving the balance between the superficial cervical flexor and extensor muscles, and enhancing the hip internal and external rotator muscle strength may help prevent neck pain.