Neck Injuries

A common injury in an accident is an injury to the neck. The most common is a strain or sprain usually caused by the forces of acceleration and deceleration when restrained by the seatbelt. What occurs is your head continues to move forward when the seatbelt restrains your torso. When your head finally comes to a stop, in many cases the muscles in your neck become sprained and the ligaments which attach the muscles to the bones in your neck become strained. This is commonly referred to as whiplash. When you sprain a muscle, the tissue actually tears and bleeds. When it heals, scar tissue remains and that foreign tissue can cause pain. When you strain a ligament, the ligament no longer has the same shape that it had before, and now can rub against small nerve fibers near the ligament causing pain. Many times, pain from sprains and strain injuries do not show up until hours and even a day or two after an initial injury.

Another type of neck injury is a herniated or extruded disc. A disc is like a jelly donut that exists between your vertebrae or bones in your back. Your spinal cord goes through the hole. The jelly is called the nucleus pulposis. The covering of the donut is called the annulis fibrosis. An extrusion or herniation occurs when there is great force, causing a small hole in the annulis fibrosis allowing the nucleus pulposis to leak. If the extrusion is on the inside part of the jelly donut that is referred to as the posterior region which is proximate or next to the spinal cord. When the nucleus pulposis extrudes in the area between the spinal cord and the disc, the extrusion may actually touch the nerve root of the spinal cord, creating pain, numbness and tingling down one’s arm into specific fingers in the event of a herniated disc in the neck and down the leg into specific toes in the event of a herniated disc in the back. These injuries sometimes require surgery to relieve the problem.

Please do not construe any of the information on this website as medical advice. This site intends to provide general information only regarding injuries. We urge you to seek medical advice regarding your condition. Contact us at (888) 435-2465, e-mail us or fill out the consultation form to the right if you, a loved one or a close family friend have had a neck or back injury. We want to help.