Neck pain – Sensory and motor effects during shoulder movements

Neck pain is a significant problem with yearly costs estimated to exceed DKK 2.9billion in Denmark alone. With the scale of this problem, there is a need for a betterunderstanding of the underlying mechanisms behind clinical findings such asincreased pain sensitivity and reorganized muscle activity. One of the areas that hasbeen proposed as a potential contributing factor to neck pain, is the shoulder girdle,due to its close anatomical link to the cervical spine. The assertion that the shouldergirdle might play a role in neck pain is supported by reports from neck pain patientsdescribing their symptoms being aggravated following upper limb activity, as well asstudies showing reorganized muscle activity of the axioscapular muscles in ongoingneck pain conditions when compared to a pain-free population. However, previousstudies conducted in this area have been criticised for using different methods andneck pain populations, thereby making it hard to compare results between studies.