Cervical and Neck
Injury Symptoms

Symptoms:

• pain, soreness, stiffness or burning sensation in the front, back or sides of the neck. This may develop immediately after injury. Onset of discomfort may also develop slowly and not begin for 24 hours or more.
• shoulder and/or upper back pain.
• limits to the normal movement of the neck.
• headache.
• dizziness.
• weakness and/or abnormal sensation, such as numbness or tingling, of one or both arms and/or hands.
• muscle spasm.
• difficulty with swallowing or chewing.
• tenderness and swelling at the injury site.

Causes:

• car accident
• bike accident
• fall down accident
• incident at work
• security guard inappropriately handling your body
• whiplash injuries are common and occur when the  neck is forcefully whipped or forced backward and/or forward
• contact sports

Diagnosis:

Most of the time, your doctor can diagnose this problem with a careful history of your pain and symptoms and an examination. The history will need to include information about known problems, such as arthritis or a previous neck injury. Your doctor may order a x-ray, MRI or CT scan to exam the problem further.

Treatment:

There are several treatment options your doctor may recommend, depending on the severity of your symptoms or the source of the pain and discomfort. Those are:

• Cold compress helps relieve the pain and reduce inflammation. You can apply it for 10-15 minutes every 2-3 hours after any activity that aggravates your symptoms. You can use ice packs, an ice massage, or even a frozen bag of peas. Make sure to place a cloth or towel in between your skin and the ice pack to avoid any severe reaction to the skin on contact.
• Medication can help relax the muscle or even relieve some or all of the pain. It may be an over the counter medication or something stronger that is prescribed through a pharmacist.
• Neck collar
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic Care
• Trigger point injections
• Epidural Injections
• Surgery, in severe cases