Duration Of Current Neck Stiffness

What Causes Neck Stiffness?

Neck stiffness can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'worrying' to 'critical'.  Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms.  In order to diagnose neck stiffness, we could:

  • Research the topic
  • Find a doctor with the time
  • Use a diagnostic computer system.
The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "neck stiffness" as a symptom.  Here are seven possibilities:
  • Encephalitis
  • Cervical Arthritis
  • A Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
  • Meningitis
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:
severe stiff neck
severe neck pain
elevated ANA levels
mildly elevated ANA levels
recent onset neck pain
very dry eyes
frequent unexplained fevers
slight stiff neck
pain between shoulder blades
pain in cold/cool/damp weather
pitted nails
rheumatoid arthritis
... and more than 10 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of neck stiffness:
Cause Probability Status
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis 93% Confirm
Cervical Arthritis 27% Unlikely
A Subarachnoid Hemorrhage 23% Unlikely
Meningitis 4% Ruled out
Ankylosing Spondylitis 4% Ruled out
Rheumatoid Arthritis 1% Ruled out
Encephalitis 1% Ruled out
* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate neck pain/stiffness, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:
If you have a stiff neck, how long has it been this way?
Possible responses:
→ Don't know / not applicable
→ Over 1 year
→ 1 to 12 months
→ 1 week to 1 month
→ Less than 1 week
Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either long term neck stiffness or recent onset neck stiffness, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:
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