Neck and Upper Right Back Pain Post MVA

[esedlock]

I was in a head on collision a month ago and was in a lot of pain immediately after the accident, back and neck. Things improved; I recovered from my concussion and started feeling better. About three days ago, the right side of my neck started to bother me. It hurt to turn my head. It has gotten progressively worse; now it hurts to breathe deeply, look up or turn my head. The pain is in the back, right side around 4 inches below the top of my shoulder muscle. Seriosuly, it is acute pain when I breathe in; I am afraid to sneeze. Argh. What kind of doctor should I see? Any remedies until then? I am not sure what is wrong with me.

 

[SpineAZ]

It could easily be whiplash. Whiplash is a general term but it described the type of pain and soft tissue injury one can get after the head moved rapidly front to back or any motion. The first thing to do is to try things like heat and over the counter medications that you are comfortable with. If the pain is severe and is interfering with your everyday functioning it may be necessary to see your physician. I hope your doctor would at least agree to a neck and upper spine x-ray and at the least some muscle relaxant type medications and possibly some pain medications for about a 2-3 week period. Sometimes these medications, along with some anti-inflammatories, can help whiplash. But if not, after a few weeks of treatment, then you need to see if you can get a referral to a Neurosurgeon and/or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. This doesn't mean that you need surgery, but NS and OSS are very good at helping determine non-surgical treatments such as Physical Therapy, different medications, etc. They may also seek to get a CT or MRI if your primary care doesn't order those. Best of luck to you, whiplash type injuries can be very painful as the soft tissues take a long time to heal (just as a sever ankle sprain can take a long time since a sprain is a soft tissue injury).

 

[feelbad]

good info there from AZ. just got a few quick questions for you only becasue they DO matter here? were you belted in when this occured? were you cushioned and also unfortuently slammed by the old airbag too? if no actual airbag, what did your head possibly hit during impact? approx how fast were you going when you impacted? when they brought you to the ER, just what types of scans were done on you? i am assuming at the very least here a CT was done? what did they tell you were the extent of your injuries? knowing this stuff will really help to know to help you. marcia