What Could be Causing Painful Neck?

What Causes Painful Neck?

Painful neck 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 painful neck, 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 "painful neck" as a symptom. Here are seven possibilities:

Encephalitis
Cervical Arthritis
Meningitis
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Torticollis
A Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
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:

pain in cold/cool/damp weather

long term neck stiffness

fatigue after slight exertion

low lymphocyte count

severe rheumatoid arthritis

daily morning stiffness

major pain in cold/cool/damp weather

pitted nails

severe stiff neck

major joint pain/swelling/stiffness

severe neck pain

severe fatigue after slight exertion

... and more than 20 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of painful neck:

Cause	Probability	Status
A Subarachnoid Hemorrhage	92%	Confirm
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis	23%	Unlikely
Meningitis	23%	Unlikely
Rheumatoid Arthritis	3%	Ruled out
Encephalitis	3%	Ruled out
Torticollis	0%	Ruled out
Cervical Arthritis	0%	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 neck pain, for how long have you had it?

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 pain or recent onset neck pain, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Encephalitis

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Meningitis

Neck Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Torticollis (Loxia, "Wryneck")

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™