Journal
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Volume 58, Issue 4, Pages 407-413Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2004.01.022
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Objective: This study describes the course of shoulder and neck complaints in a working population over time. Study Design and Setting: Questionnaires were administered on neck and shoulder complaints over 3 consecutive years. Results: We observed 12-month incidence rates for neck and shoulder complaints of 16% to 18%, 12-month prevalence rates roughly twice as high, and 12-month recurrence rates approximately twice the prevalence rates. Each year, medical care was sought by 21% to 38% of the subjects with neck or shoulder pain, and 13% to 21% were absent from work. Although at the population level the occurrence of neck and shoulder complaints remained constant, the course of complaints within individuals demonstrated a strong episodic nature of neck and shoulder pain. Results from this study suggest that neck and shoulder complaints for most subjects run a recurrent course characterized by a strong variation in occurrence and a self-limiting course. Conclusion: These findings suggest that clinical trials should have a sufficiently long follow-up period to demonstrate sustainability of the therapeutic results. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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