Neck injury manifests itself in different forms ranging from severe to minor. A car accident, slip and fall, trauma to neck area and degenerative changes in the spinal cord can be followed by such an injury. As different anatomical parts of the neck are closely connected to each other, damage to one part is likely to inflict damages on others. Soft tissues, joints, nerves and bones form the anatomical structure of cervical spine and help in head movement.
In this article, we will discuss about how cervical spine injury or neck injury affects its different components.
Effect on Soft Tissues
In most of the neck injury cases, only or mainly soft tissues are affected. What is meant by soft tissues in neck? It refers to tendons, ligaments, muscles and/or fascia. However, other kinds of neck injuries affecting mainly bones, discs and joints also leave negative impact on muscles to some extent.
Soft tissues are affected by three kinds of neck injuries as follows:
- Sprain in the neck
- Crick in the neck
- Sprain in the neck
Effect on Spinal Cord and Nerves
Some injuries to your neck cause mild to severe damage to the nervous system. Neck injuries lead to adverse impact on nerves if one or more spinal structure exacts pressure on or comes into touch with spinal cord, the root of a spinal nerve or both.
We will now proceed to discuss about different types of injuries – both minor and major – that cause damages to the nervous system.
Neck Fracture
It refers to the fracture in the cervical bone. It may result from a fall, car accident, trauma or degenerative alterations in the spine. The angle of force at the time of impact is intimately related to severity and kind of neck fracture.
Treatment for neck fracture is based on the person’s age, medical history and present condition as well as the extent of break in the cervical spine.
Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injury could be life-threatening if the impact is at the third cervical vertebra or above. Such injury requires immediate medical attention; otherwise it may seriously affect the quality of life after recovery or even may cause death.
Cervical Dislocation
Cervical dislocation refers to a medical condition when any bone in the neck changes its normal position. The problem results into spinal instability. Neck bone dislocation happens due to degenerative changes or an injury impacting the ligaments. The ligaments are responsible for holding the bone in place and any disruption in their activity due to internal or external influence causes their separation from the bone.
Stinging & Burning
These refer to the temporary damages to the brachial plexus or nerve root. The games, in which physical contact is inevitable – for example, football – the players often suffer these problems. The players usually feel burning sensation, pain or even numbness down the arm.
Herniated Disc
If the jelly-like substance inside of the disc slips away – usually it makes a landing on a nerve root – pain and other nerve-related symptoms are felt. This kind of neck injury is medically termed as herniated disc.
You may ask for neck injury claim to receive compensation damages for medical expenses, loss of present earning as well as estimated future income.
