In many instances , no or minimal attempts to screen were undertaken or reported .
Background Subacromial shoulder pain is a common clinical presentation with much diagnostic uncertainty .
Some of this uncertainty relates to the involvement of the cervical spine as a source or contribution to subacromial shoulder pain .
Currently , there is no accepted method of screening of the cervical spine in the presence of subacromial shoulder pain , which risks patients receiving misguided and /or ineffective interventions .
Objective To evaluate approaches used to screen the cervical spine in patients with subacromial shoulder pain .
Musculoskeletal disorders in referrals for suspected cervical radiculopathy.
OBJECTIVES To determine ( 1 ) the prevalence of selected common musculoskeletal disorders in patients referred for electrodiagnosis when cervical radiculopathy is suspected and ( 2 ) whether these findings predict electrodiagnostic study outcome . DESIGN Prospect i ve study . SETTING Electrodiagnostic laboratories in departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation at 5 participating institutions . PARTICIPANTS A total of 191 subjects undergoing electrodiagnostic evaluations for upper-limb symptoms when cervical radiculopathy was suspected . INTERVENTIONS Not applicable . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of certain musculoskeletal disorders ( myofascial pain , shoulder impingement , lateral epicondylitis , de Quervain 's tenosynovitis ) and outcomes of electrodiagnostic testing  ( normal study , cervical radiculopathy , or another electrodiagnostically confirmed diagnosis ) . RESULTS The total prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was 42 % . The prevalence in those with a normal study was 69 % , compared with 29 % in those with cervical radiculopathy ( P<.001 ) and 45 % in those with another diagnosis ( P=.02 ) . CONCLUSIONS Musculoskeletal disorders are common in patients with suspected cervical radiculopathy . Although the presence of certain musculoskeletal disorders makes having a normal electrodiagnostic evaluation significantly more likely , the high prevalence among both patients with normal studies and those with radiculopathy and other disorders limits the usefulness of this information in precisely predicting study outcome . The presence of musculoskeletal disorders should not preclude electrodiagnostic testing when otherwise indicated
In many instances , no or minimal attempts to screen were undertaken or reported .
Background Subacromial shoulder pain is a common clinical presentation with much diagnostic uncertainty .
Some of this uncertainty relates to the involvement of the cervical spine as a source or contribution to subacromial shoulder pain .
Currently , there is no accepted method of screening of the cervical spine in the presence of subacromial shoulder pain , which risks patients receiving misguided and /or ineffective interventions .
Objective To evaluate approaches used to screen the cervical spine in patients with subacromial shoulder pain .