Introduction and objective:
Stress can have a significant impact on pain experiences. The body’s physiological stress response is manifested by an increase in muscle tension, which in a long-term process may lead to tension-type dysfunctions in the muscles and the osteoarticular system. Long-term emotional stress can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression, and even trigger autoimmune diseases. That is why it is so important to understand this correlation, which may allow taking preventive measures to control emotional stress and reduce the feeling of pain in the cervical region, thereby improving own well-being. The aim of the study is to assess the level of stress in patients with cervical spine pain.

Material and methods:
The study included 100 patients with cervical spine pain from the Pomeranian Voivodeship. A selfadministered questionnaire, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used as research tools.

Results:
Patients declaring pain in the cervical spine (n = 100) were characterised by significantly higher levels of stress, compared to patients in the control group without pain (n = 64). In addition, 48.78% (n = 80) of respondents declaring to have a comorbid condition were characterised by significantly higher stress intensity, compared to 51.22% (n = 84) of those without comorbid conditions.

Conclusions:
The level of perceived stress is associated with increased cervical spine pain and having comorbidities; therefore a multidisciplinary and holistic approach should be expected in the treatment of this type of patient.