The clinical examination of neck pain patients: The validity of a group of tests

Willem J. De Hertogh, Peter H. Vaes, Veerle Vijverman, Ann De Cordt and William Duquet

This study evaluated whether a blinded observer could identify the neck pain patients in a sample of 42 subjects consisting of neck pain patients and asymptomatic controls.  The allocation of subjects to either the control or patient group was based on the scoring of a VAS scale for pain intensity, a Bournemouth Questionnaire (BQ), a manual examination of the rotation of C0-2-7 (rated for Range Of Motion, end feel, onset of pain), an adapted Spurling test and Cervical Range Of Motion (CROM) measurements.  Our findings reinforce the validity of manual examination procedures. Clustering pain measurements, BQ and MEPs provides the highest diagnostic value to identify neck pain patients or necks in need of treatment.

Manual Therapy, Volume 12, Issue 1, February 2007, Pages 50-55

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