The impact of COVID-19 on neck pain intensity and onset: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on most aspects of life, including physical and psychological wellbeing. Neck pain is a very common musculoskeletal complaint worldwide, and one that has been impacted by COVID-19. Such impacts have been studied by a few researchers, but not without inconstancies. Moreover, understanding those impacts in relation to rehabilitation is not fully comprehended. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to systematically examine the impacts of COVID-19 on neck pain intensity and onset pre and post the pandemic. METHODS: This study was developed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed-MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. Keywords used were "COVID-19" AND "Neck Pain". Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for prevalence studies. RESULTS: A total of five studies were included with an overall sample size of 2618 participants. Three studies were at moderate risk and two were at high risk of bias. Results from three studies reported an increase in neck pain intensity and onset, while the other two did not report an increase. CONCLUSION: The impact of COVID-19 on neck pain is unclear. The inconsistency in results sheds the light on the importance of having future research (including longitudinal studies) to help guide us towards understanding the real impacts of COVID-19 on neck pain.