{"id":27897,"date":"2026-05-14T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T08:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/?page_id=27897"},"modified":"2026-08-07T08:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T07:19:06","slug":"vascular-pathologies-of-the-neck","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/vascular-pathologies-of-the-neck\/","title":{"rendered":"Vascular pathologies of the neck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Definition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a range of potential vascular pathologies of the neck which have the potential to mimic musculoskeletal problems (vascular masqueraders).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Typical signs and symptoms<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typically in addition to neck pain clinical features such as headache, facial pain, cranial nerve deficits, TIA\/ wider neurological symptoms will form part of the clinical picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prevalence and risk factors<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vascular pathologies of the neck are rare, but are an important consideration in patients presenting with neck and head pain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Occurrences of vascular pathologies of the neck are complex and multifactorial. Rarely is an event associated with a single causal factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to note that there is a different risk profile for dissection and non-dissection events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dissection events most commonly present with a history of trauma, with cardiovascular factors being less common<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-dissection events most commonly occur in the presence of cardiovascular factors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An absence of risk factors does not necessarily rule out the risk of serious neuro-vascular event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Guidance<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The International Federation of Musculoskeletal Physical Therapists have produced an international framework and resource to help improve clinician awareness of the range of potential vascular pathologies which may masquerade as MSK pain and dysfunction- see here&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifompt.org\/site\/ifompt\/IFOMPT%20cervical%20framework%20final%202020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IFOMPT cervical framework final 2020.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relevant Resources<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Headaches:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/neurology\/headache\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Headache \u2013 RefHelp Page<\/a>&nbsp;(includes guide to differentiating primary headache disorders, headache as a new complaint including adult assessment<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Facial pain:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/neurology\/facial-pain-neurology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facial Pain-Neurology \u2013 RefHelp Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and stroke:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/neurology\/transientischaemicattacktiaandstroke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) And Stroke \u2013 RefHelp Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vertigo and dizziness:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/neurology\/vertigo-and-dizziness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vertigo and dizziness \u2013 RefHelp Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>M.A &amp; P.A &#8211; 14-05-26<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition There are a range of potential vascular pathologies of the neck which have the potential to mimic musculoskeletal problems (vascular masqueraders). Typical signs and symptoms Typically in addition to neck pain clinical features such as headache, facial pain, cranial nerve deficits, TIA\/ wider neurological symptoms will form part of the clinical picture. Prevalence and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1388,1392],"class_list":["post-27897","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-serious-cervical-spine-conditions-red-flags","category-https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-vascular-pathologies-of-the-neck"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"mariamazoysaavedra","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/mariamazoysaavedra\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/musculoskeletal-physiotherapy\/cervical-thoracic-spine\/https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-serious-cervical-spine-conditions-red-flags\/\" rel=\"tag\">Serious Cervical Spine Conditions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/musculoskeletal-physiotherapy\/cervical-thoracic-spine\/https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-serious-cervical-spine-conditions-red-flags\/https-apps-nhslothian-scot-refhelp-vascular-pathologies-of-the-neck\/\" rel=\"tag\">Vascular Pathologies of the neck<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Definition There are a range of potential vascular pathologies of the neck which have the potential to mimic musculoskeletal problems (vascular masqueraders). Typical signs and symptoms Typically in addition to neck pain clinical features such as headache, facial pain, cranial nerve deficits, TIA\/ wider neurological symptoms will form part of the clinical picture. Prevalence and","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27897"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27920,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27897\/revisions\/27920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}