What is the remedy for neck pain after an injury?

Posted on Thu, 6 Mar 2014

Question: 6 weeks ago was hit on back of neck( c2-c4) region, by a buddy in the head grab position, hyperextension/necked bent toward right shoulder) I instantly went briefly numb, (face/hands/shoulders) fast forward 2 wks. I went too Er. Following (electric shock sensations) had Ct/ Mri of brain/ Mri of neck w contrast/x rays. They say everything normal. Was also to a neurologist who did some simple tests. But never even looked at neck. The problem is the pain is increasing. I'm swollen on right side of neck. C3 vertebra feels like it's not even there(numbness in neck and shoulders. Today walking/riding arounds jars it. Even a slight jar shoots pain through me. Have severe muscle spasms. And can't hyper extend. Feels best with sligh hyperflexion. I'm scared there something really wrong with this vertebrae. Can't get in until next Monday. Is this serious? Doctors seem to shrug it off. But this pain is severe. Any idea's on what this could be. And if I'm in danger. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (3 hours later)

Brief Answer: Normal MRI excludes anything serious. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query. I have noted your history and symptoms. I can understand your discomfort with the neurological symptoms, especially pain and electric-shock-like sensations. Most probably, they are arising from the cervical spinal cord or nerve, which got injured during the incident. Sometimes, a minor injury does not get picked up on the MRI of cervical spine, however, leads to symptoms as in your case. As of now, there is no need to worry. For relief of nerve pain and tingling, you can take pregabalin or gabapentin capsules. I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar