Many patients who seek help at a trauma center complain of a sprained neck. This injury is very common and affects the cervical ligaments and muscles, manifested by the occurrence of severe soreness.
Therapy of an ailment involves the use of various warming and anti-inflammatory ointments, massage, in some cases - wearing special orthopedic collars, corsets.
Causes
The neck area is poorly tolerated by physical influences. Every year, thousands of cases of fracture of the cervical vertebrae, muscle rupture, which occurred for a variety of (sometimes even insignificant) reasons: a fall, accident, sudden movement, domestic injury, are recorded at emergency stations. The reason may be even an uncomfortable posture adopted in a dream.
Stretching does not imply an injury to the spinal column: we are talking about the cervical ligaments or muscles.
The most common cause of neck strain is a sharp movement of the head (for example, when performing physical exercises in training). Sometimes it’s enough just to take an uncomfortable posture in a dream, which often occurs when falling asleep in a chair.
Sprain hazard
Most often, a neck sprain does not provoke any unpleasant or dangerous consequences requiring hospitalization or emergency care. Moreover, in 70% of cases, you can do without visiting a specialist and specific therapy: unpleasant symptoms will disappear on their own.
If a person simply stretched his muscles or ligaments, then moderate pain will occur. There is also the likelihood of an inflammatory process that manifests itself as minor swelling. If there is a rupture of ligaments or muscles, then there will be more consequences: pain may occur in the neck, head, which will give to the ears, eyes, fever is not excluded.
The greatest problems are experienced by people who have defects or abnormalities in the structure of the spine in the cervical spine. In some (rather rare) cases, there is a likelihood of compression (partial compression) and complete obstruction of one or two arteries in the spine. And this, in turn, threatens a heart attack, stroke.
However, such serious consequences when stretching the neck are an exception and are extremely rare.
Symptoms of Stretching
Many people believe that only a pain is a symptom of a neck strain. However, the clinical manifestations of the injury do not end there, and a number of other symptoms may join the pain, including:
- Stiffness of movements. Head movements become impossible, because when you try to do this, unbearable pain occurs, which can intensify when you touch the skin in the projection of the location of the pathological focus.
- The development of the inflammatory process at the site of injury, which leads to the occurrence of edema. Externally, the edema looks like a small tumor and is located on the back of the neck. Symptoms of a neck sprain are rather unpleasant.
- Temperature increase up to 38 degrees (with severe injuries). The increase occurs in the first hours after injury, and then the fever, as a rule, disappears by itself.
- Severe pain. It can occur both on one side of the neck, and on both, it can cover the whole neck and radiate to the head.
Symptoms in children
The symptomatology of neck sprain is similar to that in adults. The differences between the symptoms are minimal, but there is one peculiarity: in children, the injury is usually mild. That is, the same trauma in adults and children is manifested with varying degrees of pain. In addition, children rarely develop other symptoms, such as inflammation and swelling.
Also, with a neck extension in a child, a local increase in temperature can be observed. That is, the skin located in the projection of the lesion focus will have a higher temperature to the touch than adjacent areas. Also, the skin can change its color to pink and bright red.
There are no other significant differences between the symptoms of stretching in children and adults. It is important to consider that babies tend to exaggerate their own feelings, and therefore the child may complain of severe pain while the damage will be minimal.
What to do when stretching the neck?
First aid
Stretching is a specific injury - the sooner measures are taken to repair the damage, the faster the result will be obtained. This means that you should provide first aid as soon as possible, which is as follows:
- It is necessary to put the victim on a flat surface and try to immobilize his head. If this is not possible, then the patient should simply not move it.
- After this, it is necessary to apply cold to the injured area. You can use ice, a frozen product, cold water with which the bottle is filled. Keep cold should be about an hour, periodically changing ice (water) to new as it melts (heating).
- There is no ban on the use of painkillers, so the patient can take Analgin, Ketanov, Paracetamol or any other analgesic. The advantage is on the side of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as they can not only stop the pain, but also eliminate the inflammatory process and lower the temperature.
Therapy
Therapy for cervical sprain should be agreed with the doctor, however, as practice shows, many patients prefer to treat the damage on their own. This is usually enough.
Further treatment for neck sprain is to rest the cervical region and use medications.
- You can use any ointment intended for the treatment of muscle sprains. However, it should be applied in strict accordance with the proposed instructions for use. It is strictly forbidden to apply the product on the front of the neck.
- If pain is present, the use of simple painkillers is allowed (Paracetamol is the safest; if the pain is severe, you can use Ketanov, but only after consulting a specialist).
- It is important to ensure cervical rest. If necessary, you can purchase a special collar that will support the neck.
How long does the soreness last?
In each patient, soreness persists for different times, but on average it is very worrying up to 3 days, then its severity decreases to moderate. Moderate pain can persist for up to a week, most often it occurs with movements of the head. In case when the pain persists longer, it is recommended to visit a surgeon, therapist, and traumatologist.
Scars may form on the muscles and ligaments, which will interfere with the normal functioning of the neck. In the absence of appropriate treatment, the patient will develop contracture, which is a limitation of the functions of the ligamentous and muscular apparatus. A person will not be able to move normally, namely, to incline and turn his head to the sides. Posture will also suffer. Stretching the neck often leads to improper innervation of the arms and collar zone. Against the background of the trauma, the destruction (destruction) of the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral discs often begins, the elbow and shoulder joints are sore.
Which specialists should I contact?
As a rule, when stretching the neck, the patient does not need medical attention, however, there may be alarming signs that you need to pay attention to.
If they appear, it is important to consult a doctor immediately. You can visit the therapist or urgently contact a trauma center. Alarms that require immediate action are:
- Preservation of high temperature, which does not pass more than one and a half to two days.
- Preservation or increase of pain, the presence of severe pain, persisting for 4 days.
- The occurrence of strong reporting, severe redness of the skin in the projection of the injured area.
- The appearance of cognitive impairment, hearing impairment, decreased visual acuity.
- Difficulties in taking food and water, which arise due to spasm of the jaw muscles, increased pain during chewing, swallowing.
It is important to remember that going to the doctor will help prevent the negative consequences that can develop in the absence of proper therapy.
Preventative measures
It is impossible to fully protect yourself from cervical sprain, however, if you follow certain recommendations, the probability can be significantly reduced. Preventive measures aimed at preventing stretching of the cervical ligaments, muscles, are the same for adult patients and children. The recommendations are as follows:
- It is important to prevent hypothermia of the cervical spine. In winter it is recommended to wear warm scarves, in the summer - you should not sleep under a fan, air conditioning.
- Avoid too abrupt movements of the head and neck, especially if the neck muscles are not prepared for physical exertion.
- You should choose the most comfortable position and pillow for sleeping.
- Before performing physical exercises (before training or lifting weights), it is necessary to stretch the muscles (including the neck). Even if the load on the neck is not expected.
- In martial arts, especially wrestling, it is important to use special ammunition, which will protect the body and neck from injury.
- With the development of back diseases that provoke spasms of the spinal muscles, they should be treated promptly. The most dangerous diseases in this regard are scoliosis and osteochondrosis.
Conclusion
As a rule, neck muscle strain does not require specific treatment and passes on its own in a short time. However, it is important to remember that in some circumstances a doctor’s consultation cannot be avoided. Only timely diagnosis and adequate therapy will avoid the deterioration and development of unpleasant consequences.