Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for
neck pain in the white population in the greater Durban area. The rational for
this study was that there have been few epidemiological studies done on neck
pain and even less when concerning different population groups.
Discrepancies between population groups have been found in various pain
related studies. The present epidemiological study eliminated any possible
variables between population groups by studying only the white population in
a specific geographical area (Durban). Therefore, physicians treating people
with neck pain should use the risk factors that were established in this and
other studies and integrate them in their treatment protocol.
The study was conducted at three shopping centres around Durban that were
randomly selected. Each shopping centre was grouped by the socio-economic
status of the surrounding suburbs. There were 900 participants surveyed at
three shopping centres by means of a questionnaire. The data were then
statistically analysed using SPSS version 15.
It was found that the overall prevalence of neck pain was 45%. The
participants in this study that had neck pain were more likely to be females
that were married or previously married, had a job that caused their heads to
turn or to work with their arms above their heads. Lifestyle factors included
one or a combination of the following: lead a stressful lifestyle, were
emotional, had perceived bad posture, had previously experienced neck or
head trauma, slept in awkward positions, watched television, required glasses
and did not play squash.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:dut/oai:ir.dut.ac.za:10321/538 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Slabbert, Warren Neville |
| Contributors | Boodhoo, Vilash, Korporaal, Charmaine Maria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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