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 .
Categorising the severity of neck pain: Establishment of cut-points for use in clinical and epidemiological research
Abstract Grading pain intensity scales into simple categories provides useful information for both clinicians and epidemiologists and methods to classify pain severity for numerical rating scales have been recommended . However , the establishment of cut‐points is still in its infancy and little is known as to whether cut‐points are affected by age or gender . The objectives of this paper were to establish optimal cut‐points in pain severity in individuals with neck pain ( NP ) and to investigate if the cut‐points were influenced by gender , age , and NP duration . Data from the population ‐based ‘ Funen Neck and Chest Pain Study ’ was used . Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance were performed to calculate optimal single and double cut‐points for three different pain intensity scores within the past 2 weeks relative to two neck disability scales ( ‘ global assessment of NP ’ and the ‘ Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale ’ ) . The two disability scales showed small differences in optimal cut‐points . Furthermore , cut‐points changed for each of the three pain intensity scales . Only small gender differences in cut‐points were seen and no specific trend was noted in either single or double cut‐points in different age groups . The cut‐points were almost identical for acute , subacute , and chronic NP . This paper has implication s for underst and ing the impact of using different pain intensity scales and provides reference cut‐points in NP for use in future clinical and epidemiological research
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 .