Differential diagnostic aspects of cervicobrachialgia

1. Big picture

Cervicobrachialgia means neck pain radiating into the arm. In neurology, the important question is not only “does the patient have neck pain?” but:

Is this a cervical root lesion, spinal cord lesion, plexus lesion, peripheral nerve lesion, shoulder disease, tumor, vascular disease, or referred pain?

For the exam, cervicobrachialgia is mainly a localization and differential diagnosis topic. The examiner wants you to distinguish:

• Cervical radiculopathy: root compression, usually from disc herniation or spondylosis.

• Cervical myelopathy: spinal cord compression, dangerous.

• Brachial plexus lesion: multiple root/nerve territory involvement.