ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025
A population-based survey of beliefs about neck pain and its associated disorders: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNeck pain and whiplash are prevalent disorders with high socio-economic burden. Beliefs and expectations influence their prognosis, causing chronicisation. We aimed to investigate the perspective of the Italian population.
methodsWe conducted an online survey among Italian adults recruited through social media. The main outcomes were the Whiplash Beliefs Questionnaire (WBQ) total score and its subscales, recovery expectations, and anxiety/stress items. Independent variables were history of neck pain, whiplash, and associated symptoms, with adjustment for age, gender, marital status, employment, and type of job. Associations were assessed using linear regression for WBQ outcomes and proportional odds logistic regression for recovery expectations and anxiety/stress.
resultsOne thousand thirty-four participants were included. Most responders were women (65%, n = 673) between 35 and 50 years of age (37.6%, n = 389) and reported working more than 6 h as a white-collar worker (39.7%, n = 411). Most responders reported negative thoughts about the impact on quality of life (61.9%) and work (31.8%-30.2%). Many distrusted surgery (70.3%) medications (69.7%), and painkillers (51.2%). 23%-36% were not sure about the benefit of conservative strategies like exercise or rest (30.1%). The total score for the Whiplash Beliefs Questionnaire was significantly lower (mean difference = -1.82; p = 0.002; 95% CI -2.98 to -0.66) among those with recent pain compared to laypersons (i.e., asymptomatic healthy individuals); additionally, significantly higher scores were found for recovery pessimism among those with associated symptoms compared to laypersons (mean difference = 0.45; p = 0.01; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.79). Overall, laypersons exhibited different beliefs compared to those with recent or chronic neck pain. However, coping strategies, treatment pessimism, recovery expectations and anxiety/depression showed no significant differences (p > 0.05).
conclusionsThis study highlights Italians' perspectives on neck pain and whiplash, showcasing a nuanced relationship between pain and beliefs. Italian responders reported negative beliefs regarding the impact of neck pain/whiplash and agreed that anxiety and stress influence the perception of pain. Recovery pessimism seems to be perceived more by individuals with symptoms. Future research should integrate individual's experience from qualitative research into quantitative research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.