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 .
Subjective Health Measure Used on Chinese Patients With Neck Pain in Hong Kong
Study Design . A prospect i ve observational study was conducted on the use of the Chinese version of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Question naire . Objective . To examine the reliability , validity , and responsiveness of the Chinese version of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Question naire in Chinese patients with neck pain in Hong Kong . Summary of Background Data . There is increasing recognition that patient perspectives are essential both in making medical decisions and in judging the treatment outcomes . A valid Chinese version of a neck disability index question naire is urgently needed for effective and reliable evaluation of the treatment outcomes for patients with neck pain . Methods . Two sample s with 532 consecutive adult patients with neck pain from seven physiotherapy outpatient departments in Hong Kong who completed the Northwick Park Neck Pain Question naire  were observed and measured at different intervals : at the beginning of physiotherapy , at 7 days , at 3 weeks , and 6 weeks after physiotherapy . Results . The question naire had good content validity , very good test – retest reliability , and internal consistency ( intraclass correlation coefficient , 0.95 ; Cronbach ’s alpha , 0.87 ) . It also had good validity ( Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.59 when the score was correlated with that of a generic 42-item Chinese health question naire ) and good responsiveness ( effect size of 1.11 at week 6 after treatment began ) . Conclusions . The Chinese version of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Question naire has been shown to demonstrate very good content validity , a high degree of test – retest reliability , and internal consistency . It also exhibited good construct validity and high sensitivity to changes in severity over time
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 .