title: Evaluation of the patient with neck versus shoulder pain.
abstract: Neck and shoulder pain are common complaints among the general population, being the second and third most common musculoskeletal complaints, respectively, after back pain in the primary care setting. Differentiating between neck and shoulder pain can be challenging, as both share symptoms and physical examination findings. The differential diagnoses of neck and shoulder pain are extensive. Providers are encouraged to develop a systematic, comprehensive, and reproducible approach, including thorough history taking and physical examination along with focused diagnostic testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Physical Medicine and Rehabiliation, The UCLA Spine Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90404, USA. dfish@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Fish
authors.forename: Brett A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Gerstman
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008487:Medical History Taking; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010808:Physical Examination; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed