No Differences Between Individuals With Chronic Idiopathic Neck Pain and Asymptomatic Individuals on 7 Cervical Sensorimotor Control Tests: A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: Cervical sensorimotor outcomes have been suggested to be important in the assessment of individuals with neck pain. However, the large variety of sensorimotor control tests used in varying populations makes it difficult to draw conclusions about their clinical value. We aimed to compare cervical sensorimotor control outcomes between individuals with chronic idiopathic neck pain and asymptomatic individuals using a battery of recommended tests, and to investigate the correlation between cervical sensorimotor control outcomes and pain intensity and neck disability. DESIGN: Case-control study. METHODS: Fifty participants with chronic idiopathic neck pain and 50 age- and sex-matched asymptomatic controls completed 7 cervical sensorimotor control tests: joint position error (including joint position error torsion), postural balance, subjective visual vertical, head-tilt response, the Fly, smooth pursuit neck torsion, and head steadiness. Between-group differences were investigated with the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations between tests and levels of neck pain and disability were investigated using the Spearman rho. RESULTS: There were no differences in cervical sensorimotor outcomes between participants with chronic idiopathic neck pain and asymptomatic controls for any test (P = .203-.981). For each test, poor performers consisted of both individuals with and without neck pain. Correlations were weak between tests and levels of neck pain (r = 0.010-0.294) and neck disability (r = 0.007-0.316). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that sensorimotor control disturbances in individuals with chronic idiopathic neck pain may not be present, spawning debate on the clinical usefulness of these tests.