Prevalence and Pattern of Neck Pain seen at The Physiotherapy Department, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: A Five-Year Retrospective Study

ABSTRACT Background: Neck pain is on the increase mostly among the low- and middle-income countries, and impacts negatively on the healthcare system and quality of life of individuals. This study investigated the prevalence and pattern of neck pain seen at the Physiotherapy department, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, between year 2020 and 2024. Methods: Retrospective study design was adopted for the study. A total of fifty- two (52) patient case files were extracted from the orthopedic unit of the physiotherapy department from 2020 to 2024 following ethical clearance. A patient extraction form was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the cases, different diagnostic tests for neck pain, diagnoses, pattern of occurrence, and treatment protocols. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, percentage, and Chi-square test were used to analyze the data. The level of significance was set as 0.05. Results: The mean age of patients with neck pain was 51.73±10.40 years. There were 22 females (42.3%) and 30 males (57.7%), 41 cases of cervical spondylosis (78.8%), trauma 40 (76.9%), while fall and road traffic accident (RTA) accounted for 8 (15.3%) and 4 cases (7.7%) respectively. Cervical compression test was used for diagnoses in 41 patients (88.9%) while Distraction test was used for 31 cases (59.6%). Spurlin’s test was used for the diagnoses of neck pain in 32 (42.3%). Forty-nine patients (94.2%) received cervical mobilization/traction as means of treatments while only one had Myofascial release (1.9%). Sixteen of the patients (30.8%) had Functional Activity Exercises and 25 (48.1%) received Neck Stabilization Exercises. There were significant associations between patient’s age, occupation and the prevalence of neck pain (X2 = 58.20, p = 0.05; X2 = 22.78, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Cervical spondylosis was the most prevalent cause of neck pain while cervical mobilization/traction was mostly used for treatment. Also, there were significant associations between patient’s age, occupation and the prevalence of neck pain. More awareness should be created to educate the populace on the prevalence, pattern, and causes of neck pain as well as factors that are associated with it.