ABSTRACT
Epidemiological reports have sometimes clustered neck and limb pain, but neck complaints are ubiquitous. The prevalence of neck pain with or without upper limb pain ranges from9-18% of the general population (1-4), and one out of three individuals can recall at least one incidence of neck pain in their lifetime (1). Cervical pain is more frequently encountered in clinical practice than lowback pain (5), and traumatic neck pain becomes chronic in up to 40% of patients, with 8% to 10% experiencing severe pain (6). The occurrence increases in the workplace, with a prevalence of 35% to 71% among Swedish forest and industrial workers (7,8). The frequency of occupational cervical complaints increases with age. Approximately 25% to 30% of workers less than 30 years of age report neck stiffness, and 50% of workers over 45-years-old report similar complaints (2,3,9).
