TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of prolonged experimental neck pain on walking stability and gait kinematics - A parallel-group study
AU - Simonsen, Morten Bilde
AU - Cancino, Edith Elgueta
AU - de Brito Silva, Priscila
AU - Sørensen, Line Bay
AU - Hirata, Rogerio Pessoto
AU - Christensen, Steffan Wittrup McPhee
N1 - Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Background: Neck pain is a common problem in the general population, and movement adaptations are a natural response to pain. Previous studies have reported reduced trunk rotation during walking in those suffering from clinical neck pain. However, it is unknown how soon after the onset of pain, movement adaptations are adopted. This study investigated the effect of prolonged experimental neck pain four days after pain onset on gait kinematics during walking. Methods: Forty healthy participants were randomized to receive injections of nerve-growth-factor or a control injection of isotonic saline into the right splenius capitis muscle at the end of days 0 and 2. Participants performed two walking tasks, walking and walking while reading on a smartphone, on days 0, 4, and 15. Gait kinematics, spatiotemporal parameters, and gait stability were measured using Xsens Awinda. Findings: The nerve-growth-factor group reported increased neck pain intensity (median VAS 17.5 [IQR: 2.75–25.75]) on day 4 compared to day 0 and day 15. No pain intensity changes between days were reported for the isotonic-group. For gait kinematics, a main effect of the task was identified, showing that during the smartphone condition, participants had shorter stride lengths and reduced RoM for the trunk, hip, knee, and ankle compared to normal waking (P < 0.006). Interpretation: Walking while reading on a smartphone, but not mild neck muscle pain, caused changes in the gait kinematics compared to normal walking without neck pain. This finding suggests that movement alterations during walking are not an early feature of prolonged experimental neck pain.
AB - Background: Neck pain is a common problem in the general population, and movement adaptations are a natural response to pain. Previous studies have reported reduced trunk rotation during walking in those suffering from clinical neck pain. However, it is unknown how soon after the onset of pain, movement adaptations are adopted. This study investigated the effect of prolonged experimental neck pain four days after pain onset on gait kinematics during walking. Methods: Forty healthy participants were randomized to receive injections of nerve-growth-factor or a control injection of isotonic saline into the right splenius capitis muscle at the end of days 0 and 2. Participants performed two walking tasks, walking and walking while reading on a smartphone, on days 0, 4, and 15. Gait kinematics, spatiotemporal parameters, and gait stability were measured using Xsens Awinda. Findings: The nerve-growth-factor group reported increased neck pain intensity (median VAS 17.5 [IQR: 2.75–25.75]) on day 4 compared to day 0 and day 15. No pain intensity changes between days were reported for the isotonic-group. For gait kinematics, a main effect of the task was identified, showing that during the smartphone condition, participants had shorter stride lengths and reduced RoM for the trunk, hip, knee, and ankle compared to normal waking (P < 0.006). Interpretation: Walking while reading on a smartphone, but not mild neck muscle pain, caused changes in the gait kinematics compared to normal walking without neck pain. This finding suggests that movement alterations during walking are not an early feature of prolonged experimental neck pain.
KW - experimental pain
KW - gait
KW - kinematics
KW - neck pain
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144823617&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2022.105869
DO - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2022.105869
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36584579
SN - 0268-0033
VL - 101
JO - Clinical Biomechanics
JF - Clinical Biomechanics
M1 - 105869
ER -