Neck Injury Diagnosis

To make a neck injury diagnosis, your doctor will take a history, do a physical examination and, possibly, do diagnostic tests.

History

To determine the cause of your neck pain, your doctor will begin by taking a history. Your doctor will ask you to describe when your neck pain began and the type of pain that you are having, what causes it to be worse and what causes it to be better.

The history that the doctor takes to make a neck injury diagnosis may include a form that you are asked to complete before you see the doctor. When completing the form, take time to think about each question and answer it as well as you can.

Physical Examination

After taking the history, your doctor will do a physical examination of your neck. S/he will determine how well you can bend your neck in each direction, how well you can twist your neck, whether your neck hurts and whether there are muscle spasms in your neck and shoulders.

Your doctor will also test the nerves that leave the spine in your neck by testing for numbness in your hands and arms, testing your reflexes, testing the strength of the muscles in your arms and hands and testing for signs of nerve irritation.

Diagnostic Tests

After taking the history and doing a physical examination, your doctor will have a pretty good idea of the neck injury diagnosis. To make sure, your doctor can use several diagnostic tests, beginning with regular x-rays.

Other diagnostic tests that your doctor may order include an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), a CAT scan (Computer Assisted Tomography), a Myelogram, an EEG (Electromyogram) and a bone scan.

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