Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2004 , Vol 50 , Num 2

Kronik Mekanik Bel ve Boyun Ağrılı Hastaların Özürlülük, Anksiyete ve Depresyon Açısından Karşılaştırılması

Ali Biçer 1 ,Aylin Yazıcı 2 ,Kemal Yazıcı 3 ,Şenel Tot 2 ,Canan Erdoğan 1
1 Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Mersi
2 Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Psikiyatri Anabilim Dalı, Mersi
3 Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Psikiyatri Anabilim Dalı, Mersi

Chronic mechanic low back and neck pain is a commonly encountered health problem in clinical practices. The purpose of the study was to compare the level of  disability, anxiety and depression of patients with low back and neck pain. Study groups were consisted of chronic mechanic low back and neck pain, with a total of 90 patients (50 low back pain, 40 neck pain). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Pain Disability Index (PDI) were administered to all patients. The duration of pain in the low back pain group was found significantly longer than those in the neck pain group (p=0.003). The severity of pain between the low back and neck pain groups was not significantly different (p=0.920). When scores of HAD-anxiety (HAD-A) and HAD-depression (HAD-D) scales compared, there was no statistical difference between the groups (p=0.842, p=0.469). PDI scores were not statistically different between the low back and neck pain groups (p=0.456). A positive correlation was found between the PDI score and the duration of pain in the low back pain group (r=0.342, p=0.015). However, no correlation was found between the PDI score and the duration of pain in the neck pain group (r=0.273, p=0.08). Scores of PDI and VAS showed a  positive correlation both in low back pain (r=0.491, p=0.0001)  and neck pain (r=0.612, p=0.0001) groups. There was a positive correlation between HAD-A and PDI scores in both groups (low back pain group: r=0.36, p=0.0001, neck pain group: r=0.327, p=0.04). However, there was no correlation between the scores of HAD-D and PDI in either groups. When two groups were evaluated together, PDI scores of patients with HAD-A and HAD-D scores above the threshold value were significantly higher than those below the threshold level (p=0.002, p=0.01). Chronic mechanic low-back and neck pain cause disability. In our study, it was found that chronic mechanic low back and neck pain lead to an equal level of disability and the risk of anxiety and depression.

Keywords : Anxiety, low back pain, neck pain, depression, disability