Neck pain is a common complaint of people presenting to the ED. Most of the cases will be musculoskeleteal in origin and will respond to conservative therapy with NSAIDs or acetominophen. However, other non-musculoskeletal causes of pain could be lurky behind this benign complaint.
Don't forget to consider:
Early mengingitis (84% of patients with meningitis will complain of neck stiffness)
Myocardial infarction/angina. Women are known to have atypical symptoms and might just have dull pain in their neck. Be sure to ask about whether exertion increases the pain.
Epidural Abscess- fever and neuro symptoms are often missing early on. Make sure to ask about risk factors for spinal epidural abscess.
Vertebral Artery Discection - most common identifiable cause of stroke in your people. <50% are associated with trauma and <8% of patients have connective tissue disorder. Patients are at increased risk if they have had
