Atraumatic neck pain and rigidity: a case of calcific retropharyngeal tendonitis.

ABSTRACT

Neck pain with associated rigidity is a concerning clinical presentation that emergency physicians encounter regularly.We present the case of a 58-year-old man with acute neck pain, worsened by movement and swallowing, that was found to be secondary to acute calcific retropharyngeal tendonitis. Patients with severe neck pain, neck stiffness, and odynophagia may have this condition. The diagnosis can be confirmed with imaging, and response to conservative treatment is often dramatic.