Screening protocol s have high predictive values to detect cervical spine fracture in alert , low-risk patients seeking emergency care after blunt neck trauma .
Computerized tomography ( CT ) scans had better validity ( in adults and elderly ) than radiographs in assessing high-risk and /or multi-injured blunt trauma neck patients .
In the absence of serious pathology , clinical physical examinations are more predictive at excluding than confirming structural lesions causing neurologic compression .
One exception is the manual provocation test for cervical radiculopathy , which has high positive predictive value .
There was no evidence that specific MRI findings are associated with neck pain , cervicogenic headache , or whiplash exposure .
No evidence supports using cervical provocative discography , anesthetic facet , or medial branch blocks in evaluating neck pain .
Reliable and valid self-report question naires are useful in assessing pain , function , disability , and psychosocial status in individuals with neck pain .
CONCLUSION The scientific evidence supports screening protocol s in emergency care for low-risk patients ; and CT-scans for high-risk patients with blunt trauma to the neck .
In nonemergency neck pain without radiculopathy , the validity of most commonly used objective tests is lacking .
OBJECTIVE To critically appraise and synthesize the literature on assessment of  neck pain .
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The published literature on assessment of neck pain is large and of variable quality .
There have been no prior systematic review s of this literature .
MRI of cerebrum and cervical columna within two days after whiplash neck sprain injury.
The present study was undertaken to evaluate if MRI within 2 days of a motor vehicle accident could reveal pathology of importance for underst and ing long-term disability after whiplash neck-sprain injuries . As part of a prospect i ve study cervical and cerebral MRI was performed on 40 neck sprain patients with whiplash injury after car accidents . The imaging was done within 2 days of the injury to make sure that any neck muscle bleeding , oedema or other soft tissue injuries could be detected . The MRI findings from the patients were both correlated to reported symptoms 6 months after the accident and compared to a control group of 20 volunteers . The  MRI  of both brain and neck revealed no significant differences between the patients and the control group . When the patients were grouped according to the main MRI findings at intake and compared according to the development of subjective symptoms reported by the patients , the only significant difference was more headaches at 6 months in the groups with disk pathology or spondylosis when compared to the group with no pathology . In conclusion , MRI within 2 days of the whiplash neck-sprain injury could not detect pathology connected to the injury nor predict symptom development and outcome
Screening protocol s have high predictive values to detect cervical spine fracture in alert , low-risk patients seeking emergency care after blunt neck trauma .
Computerized tomography ( CT ) scans had better validity ( in adults and elderly ) than radiographs in assessing high-risk and /or multi-injured blunt trauma neck patients .
In the absence of serious pathology , clinical physical examinations are more predictive at excluding than confirming structural lesions causing neurologic compression .
One exception is the manual provocation test for cervical radiculopathy , which has high positive predictive value .
There was no evidence that specific MRI findings are associated with neck pain , cervicogenic headache , or whiplash exposure .
No evidence supports using cervical provocative discography , anesthetic facet , or medial branch blocks in evaluating neck pain .
Reliable and valid self-report question naires are useful in assessing pain , function , disability , and psychosocial status in individuals with neck pain .
CONCLUSION The scientific evidence supports screening protocol s in emergency care for low-risk patients ; and CT-scans for high-risk patients with blunt trauma to the neck .
In nonemergency neck pain without radiculopathy , the validity of most commonly used objective tests is lacking .
OBJECTIVE To critically appraise and synthesize the literature on assessment of  neck pain .
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The published literature on assessment of neck pain is large and of variable quality .
There have been no prior systematic review s of this literature .