Cervical spine pain and its association with shoulder joint problems

This study was conducted on 200 patients divided into 2 main groups. One group, consisting of 100 patients with neck pain, were kept as patient group and another group, consisting of 100 patients with low back pain but without neck pain, were kept as a control group. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between cervical spine pain and shoulder joint problems. A musculoskeletal history and examination form was done to both the first and second group concerning the cervical spine and shoulder. The parameters studied included age, sex, educational level, marital state, smoking, cervical and shoulder range of motion, neurological examination and special tests to both the neck and shoulder. The data obtained from the study revealed a high frequency of shoulder pain and limitation (51%) in the patients group compared with the control group (10%). Also, this study showed that the severity of neck pain (according to the visual analogue scale for neck pain) was associated with a higher number of shoulder pain and limitation. Females with shoulder pain (67.56%) were more than males (38.46%). Married patients (94%) were involved more than those who were single (6%) and educated patients (64%) were more affected by neck pain than those who were illiterate (36%).