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 .
Psychometric properties of a generic health measure in patients with neck pain
Objective : To examine the reliability , validity and responsiveness of the generic Current Perceived Health 42 ( CPH42 ) Profile in Chinese patients with neck pain in Hong Kong . Design : A prospect i ve observational study . Setting : Physiotherapy outpatient departments . Subjects : Two sample s with 472 consecutive adult patients with neck pain from seven physiotherapy outpatient departments in Hong Kong . Methods : Subjects were requested to complete the CPH42 Profile , and their pain intensity was measured using the 11-point numerical rating scale ( NRS ) . They were observed and measured at the beginning of physiotherapy , at seven days , at week 3 and at week 6 after treatment began . Results : The CPH42 Profile had very good test – retest reliability and internal consistency ( intraclass correlation coefficient 0.91 , Cronbach 's alpha 0.90 ) . Validity was confirmed by a moderate correlation with the NRS at the beginning of treatment and week 6 ( rank correlation 0.41–0.53 ) . Moreover , a significant difference in scores was found between those who had sought medical consultation and /or had taken medication because of neck pain than those who did not . The responsiveness measured from the beginning of treatment to week 3 and week 6 ( st and ard response means of 0.33 and 0.36 ) was comparable to the respective changes in pain intensity . Conclusion : The CPH42 Profile has been shown to demonstrate good reliability and validity , and it is sensitive to changes in severity over time . It is suitable for use as an outcome measure for evaluation of patients with neck pain
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 .