PAIN AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN PATIENTS

Neck pain is the most common musculoskeletal condition affecting the community and has a debilitating impact on the functional performance of an individual. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of neck pain on quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 100 subjects in the age group of 18 – 60 years diagnosed with nonspecific neck pain. Pain intensity was measured using visual analogue scale (VAS). The Quality of Life was evaluated by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36). Out of 100 patients, 47 were males and 53 females. The mean age of the participants was 30.53 ± 10.84 years. There was a negative correlation between pain and physical component summary and mental component summary score of SF 36. Also, a significant difference in pain, physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores between males and females. Females had lower scores than female in quality of life domain. Hence, these components should be included during assessment which will provide a holistic and multimodal approach towards the understanding, planning and enhancement of management of these patients.