OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between living habit and cervical instability in adolescent patients with neck pain.

METHODSFifty-nine adolescent patients with neck pain(neck pain group) and seventeen healthy teenagers (control group) were recruited and divided into two groups, and clinical information, living habit were collected. In addition, all people were taken lateral, hyperextension and hyperflexion radiography to analyze relationship between living habit and cervical instability.

RESULTSThere was no obvious difference in age, height, weight and body mass index between two groups. The neck pain group using cellphone time per day is longer than control group, while control group had more exercise time than neck pain group(<0.01). The incidence of instability in neck pain group was significantly higher than that in control group(<0.01). In hyperflexion, angular displacement(AD) of neck pain group in vertebral body between C₃-C₄, C₄-C₅ and C₅-C₆ was significantly higher than that of control group. In neck pain group, AD of hyperflexion was higher than that of hyperextension on C₄-C₅(<0.01), and AD of hyperextension is higher than that of hyperflexion on C₆-C₇(<0.05). In neck pain group, AD of hyperextension on C₄-C₅ was positively correlated with time of using cellphone every day(=0.275, =0.035). And AD of hyperflexion was significantly positive correlated with time of using cellphone(=0.577, <0.001), but was negatively correlated with exercise time(=-0.279, =0.032). The AD of hyperflexion on C₅-C₆ was negatively correlated with exercise time every day(=-0.292, =0.025), AD of hyperextension was negatively correlated with time of using computer every day(=-0.262, =0.045).

CONCLUSIONSAdolescent neck pain patients had more time to use cellphone than normal teens every day, and exercise time is less than healthy teenagers, and occurrence rate of cervical instability is higher on C₃-C₄, C₄-C₅, C₅-C₆ segment. The longer daily exercise time, the smaller C₄-C₅ and C₅-C₆ AD values; the longer cellphone usage every day, the greater C4-C5 AD values.