Influence of duration of pain on postural sway in individuals with mechanical neck pain

Purpose. The study investigated the influence of duration of neck pain on postural control in individuals with mechanical neck pain. Methods. Seventy-two patients with mechanical neck pain were categorized into three groups (acute, subacute, and chronic) based on symptom duration. Postural sway was recorded in standing on a posturography platform. Centre of pressure (COP) measurements in the Antero-posterior and Medio-lateral directions were measured with eyes closed. Influence of duration on neck pain was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Results. There were no significant group differences for COP measurements in patients across all the three groups. The mean COP excursion in the anteroposterior direction was (0.64± 0.15), (0.58± 0.15) (0.61 ± 0.23) for the acute, sub-acute and chronic groups respectively (p-value >0.05). However, individuals with chronic neck pain had slightly greater COP excursions compared to the other groups. Conclusion. There was no difference in postural sway across acute, subacute and chronic neck pain. The study paves the way for the exploration of other mechanisms for altered postural sway in neck pain.