Laterality Discrimination in Patients With Non-specific Chronic Neck Pain

Effects of Laterality Discrimination in Patients With Non-specific Chronic Neck Pain. Randomized Blind Clinical Trial

Chronic neck pain is one of the most common causes of pain, affecting 15% of the adult population, and the fourth leading cause of disability. The recognition of laterality is the ability to recognize a part of the body that belongs to the left or right which is used as a tool to create a normal process of motor planning.

The most consistent data come from the investigation of the primary motor cortex, in which the cortical representations of the altered body part are affected when there is chronic pain. Occasionally, the primary motor cortex is smaller on the affected side than on the contralateral side.

Recognition of the body schema is altered in the presence of painful disorders. The most common way of assessing the body schema is by motor imagery through the laterality discrimination of the left and right.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The inclusion criteria were as follows: a) men and women aged between 18- and 65-years b) medical diagnosis of Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain with more than 6 months of evolution of neck pain.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exclusion criteria included the following: a) patients with rheumatic diseases, cervical hernia, cervical whiplash syndrome, neck surgeries or history of arthrodesis, b) systemic diseases, c) vision, hearing or vestibular problems, d) Severe trauma or traffic accident which has had an impact on the cervical area.