Analysis

After your patient-history taking and physical examination, you should be able to give answer to the following questions:

  • Which grade of neck pain (I-IV) is present in this patient?
  • Course: Normal or abnormal?
  • Is this patient experiencing work- or trauma-related neck pain?
  • Are any prognostic factors present that I can influence?
  • Is the relationship between the reported limitations of daily living and participation consistent with the patient’s neck pain?

The answers to the abovementioned 5 questions enable you to categorize your patient into the following treatment profiles:

Treatment Profile Description
Profile A Neck pain grade I or II with a normal cause
Profile B Neck pain grade I or II with an abnormal cause, but no dominance of psychosocial factors
Profile C Neck pain grade I or II with an abnormal cause, and dominance of psychosocial factors
Profile D Neck pain grade III

 

Study          
KNGF (2016)
Comment: This guideline is only available in Dutch at the moment.