Chronic neck pain has high costs

 The social and economic burden of neck injuries has been assessed by a team from the University of Copenhagen, who published their findings in Spine. Data from 94,000 Danish people who had a neck injury between 1998 and 2009 were compared with people who did not have neck injury.
Those with neck injuries incurred direct and indirect financial costs of about £2,190 because of costs of medication, doctor visits, work disability and other factors. And partners spent an average of £1,400 on medication and travel to the doctor and hospital appointments.

The team found that this impact began before the injury occurred, explained by “a negative social and health-related status several years before the accident” because the injured people and their partners seem to have a “pre-existing increased vulnerability” to economic and social costs.
Psychosocial factors may affect people’s ability to cope with neck pain, say the scientists. People may choose partners who have similar “low-threshold sickness behaviour” and some people and families may be more likely to experience socioeconomic consequences of neck injury and chronic neck pain.

About 10% of people with neck injury develop chronic pain so the findings could help address the subsequent socioeconomic burdens.
More research is needed to “identify high-risk groups for chronic disease development and disease management, so that the costs and consequences for patients and society can be reduced”.