What to Do About Neck Pain After a North Carolina Car Accident

Your neck is an incredibly complex structure that contains bones, cartilage, joints, nerves, muscles, soft tissues, and your spinal cord (which is technically a big bundle of nerves). Any of these structures can be damaged or injured in a car accident or other traumatic event, which means there are many different types and experiences of neck pain.

Some of the most common types of neck pain that people experience after a car wreck include:

• Acute neck pain: For some people, a neck injury creates neck pain that is immediate, obvious, and severe. Usually, this level of immediate pain requires swift medical treatment.
• Delayed neck pain: Not all neck injuries create severe pain right away. In some cases, victims only begin to feel neck pain days or even weeks after an injury. In other cases, the neck pain seems mild or tolerable at first but then keeps getting worse over time.
• Chronic neck pain: Neck injuries are notorious for creating pain and other symptoms that can linger for months or even years. When neck pain persists over a long period of time, it’s called chronic neck pain.
• Nerve pain: Neck injuries can damage or put pressure on your nerves, which might create nerve pain. Many people who suffer nerve pain describe it as a shooting, stabbing, or burning sensation, almost like an electric shock. Episodes of nerve pain might happen when you move or turn your neck, but they also can come seemingly out of nowhere.
• Joint pain: A joint is a spot where two bones connect, and your neck has several joints. If the connective tissue in these joints get damaged, it can cause pain and affect your ability to move, turn, and flex your neck.
• Muscle pain and spasms: Muscle pain is often described as a dull, aching, or shooting type of pain. Meanwhile, a muscle spasm can feel like a sudden tightening, cramping, or stiffening of your neck muscles. Either type of pain can signal a serious injury to your neck muscles.
• Frequent headaches: Neck injuries can create pain that doesn’t even feel like it’s coming from your neck, and chronic headaches are a prime example. If you’re experiencing frequent headaches after a crash, it could be a symptom of a serious spinal or neck injury.

Several different types of neck injuries can cause the types of pain listed. Some of the most common neck injuries include:

Herniated discs

Discs are rubbery structures that sit between the bones of your spine and cushion them. Each disc has a firm outer layer and a soft interior. When a disc gets injured and the firm exterior gets torn open, the soft inside part can bulge out. This injury is often called a herniated or ruptured disc.

Bone fractures

Your bones that are built to withstand day-to-day jolts and impacts, but the massive force of a car accident can easily break them. When a bone breaks — either partially or completely—it’s called a fracture. The bones in your neck are complicated and critical to the function of your neck and back, so any fracture in these bones can lead to serious and painful consequences.

Pinched nerves

When the tissues or bones around a nerve are damaged, they can swell or move and press on the nerve directly. This condition, known as a pinched nerve or compressed nerve, can lead to intense, electric shock-like nerve pain. The shocks can travel down your arms and into your fingers.

Facet joint injuries

The spot where two bones connect is called a joint, and the joints that connect the bones of your spine are called facet joints. Each joint has connective tissue that links the bones together and allows them to move. If this connective tissue gets damaged, it can cause pain and restrict the bones’ ability to move. Facet joint injuries often result in pain when moving your neck or head. A joint injury to your neck can also be called a neck sprain.

Soft tissue injuries

“Soft tissue” refers to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that enable your neck (and other body parts) to move. Damage to these soft tissues can cause pain, stiffness, and reduced range of motion.

Spinal cord injuries

The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs through your back and into the brain. This nerve bundle is an extremely critical structure that brings signals from your brain to the rest of the body and vice versa. Injuries to the spinal nerves can be life-altering or even life-threatening.