Neck injuries can make life unbearably difficult, restricting your everyday movements or even hold your head up properly. Every aspect of your life can be made painful by a neck injury, from sleeping in your bed to performing your job at work. Whether a mild injury, or a more serious one, they can result in lifelong disabilities that restrict your ability to work.
From simple sprains and strains to more complex issues like bulging discs and repetitive motion injuries, at Pain Stop MD, we know how exhausting and excruciating neck problems can be. We have a dedicated team of medical professionals to help you relieve your pain and heal your body through short-term acute care and long-term care.
Contact us today to learn more about our clinic or schedule a consultation with our board-certified physician.
Common Neck Injuries
Your neck’s position makes it the most exposed and fragile part of the spine, with an ability to twist, turn, and rotate the head that allows us to engage a variety of different activities and motions. The neck can be vulnerable to damage and harm, and some of the most common injuries include:
- Whiplash and neck sprains. These are commonly sustained by those in rear-end accidents, caused by the neck forcefully and rapidly snapping back and forth during a crash or collision. Neck pain, headaches, numbness or tingling in the arms, fatigue, and tenderness are all symptoms of whiplash and neck sprains. Pain management and physical therapy are the best treatments for these injuries.
- Muscle strains. Repetitive motions, such as carrying heavy objects, and single incidents both can cause neck strains. Self-care and rest can often heal muscle strains in the neck, but pain medication and physical therapy are sometimes necessary as well.
- Pinched nerve. A significantly painful injury, pinched nerves occur when nerves radiating from your neck or spine are compressed by ligaments, tendons, or bones. The pain from pinched nerves radiates down the shoulder and arm, sometimes all the way to hands, wrists, and fingers. Not treating a pinched nerve can result in permanent scarring of the damaged nerve.
- Disc injuries. When the soft discs located between the vertebrae push outward put pressure on surrounding nerves, it causes bulging or herniated discs. These are also referred to as slipped discs, ruptured discs, and may or may not cause pain. Regardless, they should be looked at by medical professionals, and are regularly treated with pain management and physical therapy.
- Cervical fracture. Occurring when one of the seven vertebrae is broken in the neck, these are very serious incidents that could lead to permanent damage to the spinal cord or paralysis. Traffic accidents, construction accidents, or other similar incidents can cause a cervical fracture. Immediate medical attention is necessary to prevent permanent damage to the spinal cord and neck. Treatment may involve pain medication and extensive physical therapy.
Workplace Neck Injury Causes
Due to the kinds of accidents and conditions workers face on the job, these incidents are the four most common causes for on-the-job neck injuries:
- Traffic accidents. Traffic accidents are a risk for any worker who drives regularly for his or her job, such as postal workers and construction workers. Injuries from car accidents range from whiplash to paralysis and even spinal cord damage.
- Falls. Whether from a slip or fall from a tall height, falls can often cause neck injuries that require both acute and follow-up care. Falls can result in neck sprains and strains or even a broken nech.
- Repetitive movements and actions. Repetitive motion can cause health problems especially after long durations of time performing the same movement. Regular physical tasks often put workers at risk for repetitive motion injuries, such is disk injuries or bulging discs. Medical treatment is necessary in order to heal pain and prevent further damage.
- Lifting. Lifting can cause neck sprains, neck strains, and disc issues. Caused by both lifting in an incorrect manner or lifting too much weight, these types of injuries can be both chronic or acute.
While these may be the most common causes of a neck injury on the job, any incident you sustain while at work deserves medical attention and care to get you back to good health.
Neck Injury Symptoms
Pain is the main indicator for any health issue, but some neck injuries can occur without the feeling of pain. Here are some symptoms that indicate a serious health problem:
- Neck pain. Pain from neck injuries comes in many different forms, like dull, aching discomfort to sudden shocks of pain, and can affect the head, shoulders, arms, and back in addition to the neck.
- Loss of feeling or numbness. The loss of feeling or numbness in the neck, shoulders, and arms can be caused when there are issues with the vertebrae that causes pressure on the nerves.
- Loss of movement. Stiffness or pain during movement prevents patients from being able to turn their heads, lift things, or live a normal life.
- Loss of coordination. Victims of neck injuries may lose coordination skills, suffering from numbness or loss of feeling, especially in the arms, hands, and fingers.
- Weakness. Sometimes, as with bulging discs, victims of neck injuries won’t report pain but will report feeling weak and losing strength on one side or both sides of the body. Doctors should check for equal strength on both sides of the body.
- Spasms. Short-lived and abrupt muscle spasms can cause great pain in the neck and nearby areas. Often due to overuse, spasms can be debilitating to a patient.
- Paralysis. In worst case scenarios, there can be damage to the spinal cord, which can result in paralysis. All function and feeling is lost below the point of injury in these instances.
Treating symptoms of a neck injury is vital to proper and correct healing. Failing to treat can lead to permanent damage and worse conditions, and can involve chronic pain and serious mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
The Treatment Process
The physical and mental issues that can occur with neck injuries can be serious, and we understand how to best treat them at Pain Stop MD. Regardless of the type of neck injury, our staff is fit to give you the kind of treatment you deserve, including:
- Pain management. Pain medication, whether over-the-counter or prescription, is the only treatment necessary for lighter incidents.
- Injections. In cases when a patient is not getting better with simple pain management, sometimes a steroid injection can help get the neck back to healthy shape.
- Physical therapy. Strengthening the muscles around the neck through physical therapy is the best way to recover and prevent injuries from reoccurring in the future.
- Surgery. Occasionally, the only route to helping a patient heal is through surgery, especially for those suffering from broken necks or multiple herniated discs.
Let Pain Stop MD Help You Recover From Your Neck Injury
Our medical professionals are trained with the proper resources and tools to help you manage your neck pain and get your neck back into as healthy as shape as possible. Whatever concerns you have about your injury, from your health to your career, to your compensation claim, we can assist you in all aspects of your healing process. We work with the following workers:
- Postal workers
- Construction workers
- Office workers and clerks
- Jail and prison workers
- TSA employees
- Registered nurses
- Forest service employees
- Compliance officers
Contact us today to schedule your consultation or learn more about how we can help you.