Several factors were found to be associated with disability at follow-up for at least two different pain symptoms .
However , owing to insufficient studies , no generic risk factors for sick leave were identified .
Conclusions Multiple site pain , high pain severity , older age , baseline disability and longer pain duration were identified as potential prognostic factors for disability across pain sites .
There was limited evidence that anxiety and depression were associated with disability in patients with subacute pain , indicating that these factors may not play as large a role as expected in developing disability due to a pain condition .
Objective This systematic review aims to identify generic prognostic factors for disability and sick leave in subacute pain patients .
People seeking treatment for a new episode of neck pain typically have rapid improvement in symptoms: an observational study.
QUESTION What is the clinical course of a new episode of non-specific neck pain in people who are treated with multimodal physical therapies in a primary care setting ? DESIGN Observational study with 3-month follow-up , run in conjunction with a r and omised trial . PARTICIPANTS 181 adults who consulted a physiotherapist or chiropractor for a new episode of nonspecific neck pain . OUTCOME MEASURES Time to recover from the episode of neck pain , time to recover normal activity , and pain and neck-related disability at three months . Clinical and demographic characteristics were investigated as potential predictors of recovery . RESULTS Within 3 months , 53 % of participants reported complete recovery from the episode of neck pain . On a scale from 0 ( none ) to 10 ( worst ) , pain improved from 6.1 ( SD 2.0 ) at baseline to 2.5 ( SD 2.1 ) at 2 weeks and to 1.5 ( SD 1.8 ) at 3 months . On a scale from 0 ( none ) to 50 ( worst ) , disability improved from 15.5 ( SD 7.4 ) at baseline to 5.4 ( SD 6.4 ) at 3 months . Faster recovery was independently associated with better self-rated general health , shorter duration of symptoms , being a smoker , and absence of concomitant upper back pain or headache . Higher disability at 3 months was independently associated with higher disability at baseline , concomitant upper or lower back pain , older age , and previous sick leave for neck pain . CONCLUSION People who seek physical treatments for a new episode of neck pain in this primary care setting typically have high pain scores that improve rapidly after commencing treatment . Although almost half of those who seek treatment do not recover completely within three months , residual pain and disability in this group is relatively low . Physiotherapists should reassure people with a new episode of neck pain that rapid improvement in symptoms is common , modifying this advice where applicable based on risk factors
Several factors were found to be associated with disability at follow-up for at least two different pain symptoms .
However , owing to insufficient studies , no generic risk factors for sick leave were identified .
Conclusions Multiple site pain , high pain severity , older age , baseline disability and longer pain duration were identified as potential prognostic factors for disability across pain sites .
There was limited evidence that anxiety and depression were associated with disability in patients with subacute pain , indicating that these factors may not play as large a role as expected in developing disability due to a pain condition .
Objective This systematic review aims to identify generic prognostic factors for disability and sick leave in subacute pain patients .