Prevalence of Neck Pain among Athletes: A Systematic Review

Asian Spine J, 2018 · DOI: 10.31616/asj.2018.12.6.1146 · Published: December 1, 2018

Pain Management Orthopedics Public Health

Simple Explanation

This study systematically reviews existing literature on the prevalence of neck pain among athletes, summarizing findings based on different sports and timeframes. The review included studies reporting the prevalence of neck pain in athletic populations, assessing the quality and risk of bias in these studies. The goal was to determine how common neck pain is in athletes, considering factors like the sport they play, where they are, and when the pain occurs.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Athletes from various sports (driving, weightlifting, wrestling, orienteering, ice-hockey, skydiving, triathlon, fitness instruction).

Evidence Level

Systematic Review

Key Findings

1
The review found that neck pain is highly prevalent among athletes, similar to the general population.
2
The one-year prevalence of neck pain ranged from 38% to 73% across different sports.
3
Lifetime prevalence of neck pain in triathlon athletes was approximately 48%.

Research Summary

This systematic review aimed to determine the prevalence of neck pain (NP) among athletes by analyzing existing literature up to September 2015. The review included six studies with low-to-moderate risk of bias and found that NP is prevalent among athletes, with one-year prevalence ranging from 38% to 73%. The authors recommend future studies to adopt standardized definitions of NP, enroll large, randomly selected samples of athletes, and use validated questionnaires to decrease bias and increase the validity of findings.

Practical Implications

Educational Programs

Findings can inform the planning of educational programs to raise awareness about neck pain among athletes.

Rehabilitation Protocols

The review supports the development of appropriate rehabilitation protocols tailored to athletes.

Preventive Guidelines

Results suggest the need for preventive guidelines to reduce the incidence of neck pain in sports.

Study Limitations

1
The limited number of studies investigating NP prevalence in athletes restricts the ability to pool data and report a definite prevalence.
2
The focus on a few sports limits the generalizability of results to other sports.
3
Exclusion of non-English articles may have introduced bias.

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