Symptom severity and quality of life in patients with concurrent neck pain and dizziness

AbstractPurpose: There is little knowledge on how neck pain impacts dizzy patients, and if different diagnoses of dizziness associate with neck pain. The aim was to examine differences in dizziness severity, quality of life and demographics in dizzy patients with and without neck pain. Additionally, we examined if neck pain was associated with a non-vestibular or vestibular diagnosis.Methods: We included 236 consecutive patients referred to an otorhinolaryngological university clinic for vertigo and balance problems. The patients were divided in two groups: Patients with and without neck pain. Patient-reported outcomes measures were the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, RAND-12, neck pain and symptom duration.Results: A total of 59% of the patients reported neck pain. Patients with neck pain reported poorer quality of life (p < .001) and worse handicap due to dizziness (p < .001). There were no associations between reported neck pain and dizziness of non-vestibular or vestibular origin (p = .29).Conclusion: N...