title: The occurrence of the cervical pain syndromes in parents of children with physical disability in the population of Poland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pain in the cervical spine area is one of the main health problems of inhabitants of Western Europe. The necessity of parents' taking care of a child with physical disability is connected with parents' exposure to the factors affecting the risk of occurrence of pain in the cervical spine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to analyze whether there are differences in the occurrence of cervical spine pain between the group of parents of children with physical disability and parents of children without a disability.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research included a group of parents of school-aged children with physical disability (n = 47) and a group of parents of children without disability (n = 69), aged between 29 and 60 years from the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland). The people taking part in the research were asked to complete two questionnaires: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for the cervical spine and Neck Disability Index (NDI) questionnaire. Means, standard deviations, and ranges to compare scores across groups were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean VAS score among parents of children with physical disability was 4.22 (SD = 3.23) compared to 2.16 (SD = 2.31; p < .001) among parents of children without physical disability. Similarly, mean NDI scores were 19.6 (SD = 15.12) and 9.68 (SD = 8.84; p < .001), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The parents of children with physical disability are to a greater extent exposed to the occurrence of cervical spine pain. Therefore, suitable training as regards ergonomics, especially during lifting, transferring and transporting children might be beneficial to these parents.
authors.affiliation: The Joseph Tischner Special Schools Complex no.10, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland. Electronic address: posluszny@poczta.onet.pl.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Posłuszny
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiotherapy and Special Physiotherapy Methods, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland; Department of Physiotherapy, College of Strategic Planning, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Myśliwiec
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiotherapy and Special Physiotherapy Methods, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland; The Academy of Business, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saulicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Doroniewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiotherapy and Special Physiotherapy Methods, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Linek
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiotherapy and Special Physiotherapy Methods, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland; The Academy of Business, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolny
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010290:Parents; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cervical spine; Pain complaints; Parents; Physical disability; Taking care