Pain from the neck-shoulder region and sick leave.

A sample population aged 18 to 65 selected at random in a region of the county of Stockholm was examined in an epidemiological study of met and unmet needs for medical and social services-the Rebus study (3). The study, comprising about 2500 men and women, was conducted from 1969 to 1971. The frequency of neck and shoulder problems was found to increase with age and occupational physical exertion. The frequency of symptoms was higher in women than in men. Those individuals who had to lift 40 (female) 60 (male) kg to do their job exhibited a significantly lower frequency of neck-shoulder problems than others. Sick leave was more common among persons with neck-shoulder problems also when comparisons were made for age, sex, and physical strain at work.