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May 17, 2002

 Contact: Robin R. Merrifield

1304 Perry Ave., Bremerton WA 98310

Phone: 800-343-0549 or 360-471-7837

Fax: 360-478-0834 • E-mail: FCERedit@aol.com

Des Moines, Iowa—Chiropractic researchers at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) have developed and tested the first short-form, comprehensive neck outcome measure, according to a study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.¹ The Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire (Neck BQ) is a modified form of the already developed and tested Bournemouth Questionnaire for back pain, and was developed by Jennifer E. Bolton, Ph.D., MA, and B. Kim Humphreys, D.C., Ph.D.

The Neck BQ is the first neck-specific outcome measure that works under the assumption that neck pain is a biopsychosocial illness, rather than a "disease." As such, there is a move towards active rehabilitation of the patient rather than passive treatment. To suit the biopsychosocial model of illness, the Neck BQ contains seven core items: pain intensity, disability in activities of daily living (ADL), social activities, anxiety, depression, fear avoidance, and pain locus of control.

Upon development, the Neck BQ was tested for reliability on 102 patients with non-specific neck pain. There was no attempt to distinguish patients with acute or chronic pain. Of the patients, the mean age of 45.4 years and 62.7% were female. A majority of patients (79.4%) had symptoms beyond neck pain, including pain in the shoulder, upper limb, low back, or head. Just under half of patients (45.1%) reported pain lasting longer than 7 weeks. Most of the employed patients (58.4%) missed no work, but for those who did miss work, time missed ranged from one day to over one month. All patients were either first-time chiropractic patients or were suffering from a new episode of neck pain.

Before treatment, immediately after treatment, and then 4 to 6 weeks later, patients completed copies of the Neck BQ, as well as the Neck Disability Index, the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale, and the Short-Form 36 for comparison. These tests were used to verify reliability of the Neck BQ. The comparison questionnaires address neck pain as a medical disease (pain and disability only) and ignore the affective and cognitive aspects of pain.

"As a result of a lack of outcome measures specifically designed and developed for use in neck patients, and in particular ones based on neck pain as an illness, we have developed a short-form, comprehensive neck outcome measure. The neck BQ covers the salient dimensions of the biopsychosocial model of pain, is quick and easy to complete, and has been shown to be reliable, valid and responsive to clinically significant change in non-specific neck pain patients," conclude the authors and developers of the Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire.

The full article on this new questionnaire—which includes a copy of the questionnaire itself—can be ordered at www.mosby.com/jmpt. You may also subscribe to JMPT from this web site for $105/US individual/year. International subscriptions are also available.

Reference:

¹Bolton JE, Humphreys BK. "The Bournemouth Questionnaire: A Short-Form Comprehensive Outcome Measure. II. Psychometric Properties in Neck Pain Patients." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. March/April 2002; Vol. 25, No. 3.

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