Acute Neck Pain in General Practice

We performed a prospective cohort study with one-year follow-up of patients with acute neck pain in general practice. Patients above 18 years of age consulting their GP for non-specific acute neck pain lasting no longer than six weeks were invited to participate. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from patients at baseline and after 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks. 187 patients were included and we have follow-up data of 138 patients (74%). After one-year 47% still reported neck pain. Regression analysis showed that the highest association with "recovery" was the advice of the GP "to wait and see" and for "sick leave" referral by the GP We described of patients with acute neck pain. At baseline the management by the GP consisted of prescribing medication for 42% of patients and 51% was referred to a physiotherapist. Advices given by the GP were: to "wait and see", to "improve posture" and "stay active". In a subgroup analysis of patients after a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) the subgroup (n=42) was significantly younger, reported more sick leave and higher levels of headache. At baseline we asked the GP's to give an assessment of the risk for chronic neck pain and the GP showed to be able to make an adequate assessment of that. In a test-retest study the NDI has shown to be a reliable and responsive instrument. We evaluated the reliability of the Acute Low Back Pain Screenings Questionnaire (ALBPSQ) and determined a cut-off point for predicting future sick leave.