Sometimes, you wake up and feel the ache in your neck. And you wonder what you have done a night before that you woke up with pain in your neck. Well, neck pain can be caused by a lot of things, mostly because of bad posture, heavy lifting, usual wear and tear, and wrong position during sleep.
However, the most probable cause of pain in your neck, where the ache doesn’t leave your body for days, is an injury.
Neck injuries occur most commonly due to road accidents, sports, and other outdoor recreational activities. The problematic part of neck injuries is that if the neck didn’t heal properly and the person gets back on a natural routine, the pain can develop again. And just like that, it will become chronic.
Therefore, knowing about neck injuries and following the recovery procedure completely is very important for long-term health.
Below are the 5 most common kinds of neck injuries, and what to do if you ever contract them.
Contents
Neck Strain & Sprain
Neck strain is a very common neck injury involving the tear of muscle(s) or tendon(s) in the neck. Another similar injury is neck sprain, which causes a tear in the ligaments of the neck that connect the vertebra.
Tendons are a band of consistent tissues in your neck that connect bone to the muscle. On the other hand, ligaments are a band of tissues that connect all the bones together in your neck (cervical vertebrae).
Both of these injuries have similar causes, including car accidents, trips & falls, sports, and even the misdirected everyday habits; for instance, sleeping in the wrong position, sitting all day in the wrong posture, heavy lifting, and more.
Symptoms
Symptoms are also similar for these injuries, which include neck pain, lack of neck movement, lack of flexibility in the neck, stiffness in the neck, muscle spasm, and upper shoulder pain.
If not treated right away, this pain can spread and cause more problems. In severe cases, symptoms can exceed severe pain, headache; and numb, weak, and tingling arms.
Treatment
The usual treatment in neck sprain or strain involves applying ice, taking NSAIDs, physical therapy, and wearing a soft collar for a time period (in some cases).
Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the worst kinds of neck injuries, mostly caused by rear-ended car accidents. If your car is hit in the back recently, you are most likely to wake up with immense neck pain.
Whiplash is caused by a sudden back and forth movement that your neck goes through during a rear-ended accident. In the simplest terms, when your car is hit from the back, your body jerks forward while your neck stays behind and follows after, which messes up the torque in your neck.
Symptoms
It is a kind of invisible injury that doesn’t show its symptoms right after contraction, but when you wake up the next day (or after several days), you will realize that there is something definitely wrong with your neck.
Apart from unbearable neck pain that only increases over time if treatment isn’t started immediately, whiplash results in lack of head movement, stiffness of head and neck, headache, dizziness, shoulder and back pain, tingling and numbness in shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and vision and hearing problems (if the case is severe).
Treatment
For treatment, only a certified whiplash doctor is recommended, general PCPs should be avoided. Depending on the severity of the case, whiplash treatment usually includes cooling and heating therapy, rest, physical therapy, and OTC medications & NSAIDs.
Herniated Disc
A herniated disc is another severe physical disorder that causes neck pain. Similar to whiplash, disc herniation also occurs in the spine. A spine is made of discs, which are filled with the rubbery stuff called nucleus pulposus.
A herniated disc is said to occur when a disc gets pinched or compressed (due to pressure) and the nucleus pulposus gets out of the tough disc walls called annular tears.
A bulging disc or herniated disc usually happens in sporting injuries and car accidents. In car accidents, when your spinal joint is pressed intensely on the seat due to sudden pressure, a disc in your spine is very likely to be ruptured. If that is the case, it is advised that you contact a car accident doctor immediately. In old folks, the discs become weak, so the herniated disc can occur in them easily.
Symptoms
A herniated disc in the neck develops severe neck and back pain, which further becomes a headache. Further symptoms include numbness and weakness in limbs, and burning or shocking sensation in the shoulders and arms.
Treatment
The treatment for herniated discs includes rest and taking a break from physical activities, taking NSAIDs, applying ice, physical therapy, and spinal disc surgery if the matters become worse.
Pinched Nerve
As the name suggests, “pinched nerve” or “nerve pinch injury” occurs when one or more nerves are pinched – in this case, we are talking about nerves around your spinal cord. This kind of injury is caused by compression, stretching, or constriction of the nerve(s). It often happens when we are doing a tedious physical task, we feel a sudden “sting.”
This “sting” is also felt during sports, dancing, or performing any physical activity that requires neck movement. The “sting” is the hint of the injury, and even if the pain doesn’t start developing right after it, it is better to get checked by a doctor.
Symptoms
The symptom of pinched nerve includes numbness and pain in the neck and back, burning or pricking sensation in limbs, and pain spreading in different parts of the body (because nerves are interconnected).
If the nerve compression is severe, it can lead to other more complicated disorders, such as peripheral neuropathy (a complication caused by compression of nerves around the brain and spinal cord).
Treatment
One of the most recommended treatments for a pinched nerve is rest – not moving the affected part at all. Moreover, anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids are prescribed to help with the pain. In severe cases, surgery is also performed. To gradually extend the range of motion, physical therapy is often suggested by the doctor.
Cervical Fracture
A cervical vertebra (neck) is made of bones, 7 in total. These bones connect the head to your shoulders and form a neck. A fracture or breakage in one or more of the cervical vertebrae is what we call a broken neck or neck fracture, which can be very painful.
This kind of breakage usually is a result of neck trauma, mostly in automobile accidents, high-energy sports, and bad-angle falls from a significant height. However, in aged people, minor falls can also result in cervical fractures.
Symptoms
A cervical fracture can consequently affect the spinal cord, and therefore the nervous system of the body. If not treated immediately, then spinal cord complications can occur, which can lead to even more complicated issues, like paralysis, or even death.
Loss of consciousness is also possible in cervical fracture. The victim may or may not feel immense pain. If there is pain, then it is likely to spread around the shoulders and arms, which would be because of nerve compression.
Treatment
In the case (or a potential case) of cervical fracture, the neck shouldn’t be moved at all until the imaging diagnoses. The person with the injury can experience temporary paralysis (which can be permanent, depending on the case); thus, the special neck doctor must be the one to diagnose and treat.
MRI scans, CT scans, and X-Rays will diagnose the condition and suggest the relevant treatment procedure. In mild fractures, a cervical brace is worn for about 6 to 8 weeks, while a more complex condition can require a rigid cast for about 2 to 3 months, surgery, prescribed drugs, and more (as per the doctor’s advice).
Author Bio:
Dr. Matthew Johnson is an Orthopedic Surgeon and writer for many medical journals and blogs. As a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, his clinical practice focuses on the treatment of back and neck injuries in patients as a result of trauma usually from some sort of accident.
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