Why is neck pain such a common symptom after a car accident?

If you experience neck pain after a car crash, don’t worry; this condition is not unusual. Neck pain is a common condition after an auto accident, which we see frequently.

It is not surprising that neck pain is the most common symptom experienced after a car crash. Of course, your head is rapidly thrown back and forth, even in a car wreck. Neck pain is the most common this type of injury in an impact.

Your neck is exposed to very high forces during a car accident, so it’s not surprising that neck pain is so familiar from this type of injury. During a low-speed car crash, your head is exposed to rapid acceleration. The force exerts a severe strain on the tissues of the cervical spine.

The bones of your spinal column are held together with strong bands of tissue called ligaments. These provide stability for your neck.

The cervical spine comprises seven vertebrae that range from the skull’s base to the shoulders’ top. The smallest within the entire spinal column, vertebrae provide:

• Support for the head
• Protecting the spinal cord
• Giving the neck structure
• Supporting head and neck movements

What causes neck pain after an auto injury?

The ligaments in your neck can be sprained during a car crash, just like an ankle sprain. A sprain means that the ligaments are stretched or torn.

When you experience a sprained ligament, the damaged area becomes inflamed and sore after a car crash.

Chiropractic helps by increasing flexibility in the injured area, which allows the tissues to heal and helps reduce scar tissue.
The uppermost part of the spinal column, the cervical spine, is a complex structure of bones, discs, muscles, ligaments, nerves, and tendons.

Both solid and delicate, the cervical spine is an incredible structure that carries the weight of your head (9-13 pounds).

It protects the spinal cord, supplies blood to the brain, and allows a wide range of motion, supporting your head and neck movements, such as nodding, turning your head from side to side, and looking up and down.

The cervical column comprises seven bones (C1 to C7) uniquely shaped to protect the spinal cord that descends from the base of your skull and the spinal nerves or root that exit the spine between each set of bones.

Can lower back pain be related to your neck?

The neck (cervical spine) is part of the spine and encloses and protects the cervical spinal cord. Neck pain, therefore, is often a response to similar conditions that cause other back pain. Also, like back pain, neck pain may cause referred symptoms, or radiation, along your arm into your hand.

How can chiropractic care help you heal?

Let’s look at how a crash causes neck pain and how Chiropractic Clinics of South Florida can help you.

First, we will look into the root cause of neck pain after an accident. The key to recovering from neck pain caused by a crash is understanding its cause and how chiropractic care can help.

Your chiropractor can be beneficial in diagnosing neck pain and creating a treatment plan that will get you back to yourself and healthy again.

What does the cervical spine do?

• Spinal cord protection. Nerves of your spinal cord pass through the vertebral foramen. It runs the center of your vertebrae — beginning at the base of your skull, and running through the cervical and thoracic vertebrae. It ends between the first and second lumbar vertebrae.
• Head support and range of motion. The average weight of your head is between 9 to 13 pounds. The cervical spine supports your head. Let your neck and head tilt forward and backward, turn from side to side (rotation), or bend from side to side.
• Safe passageway for vertebral arteries. The cervical spine is the only section of the vertebrae that contain holes. The holes give a protective pathway from C1 to C6 for vertebral arteries to carry blood to your brain.

What other muscles and soft tissues are in the neck?

• Sternocleidomastoid. This muscle runs from behind your ears to the front of your neck.
• Trapezius. These two triangular muscles extend down your cervical and thoracic spine from the base of your neck to your shoulder blades.
• Levator scapulae. This muscle is attached to your first four cervical vertebrae to the top of the scapula (shoulder blade).
• Erector spine. Several muscles make up this muscle group. The muscles help with neck rotation, posture, and the extension of neck backward movement.
• Deep cervical flexors. The muscles run down the front of your cervical spine. They allow you to bend your neck forward and stabilize your cervical spine.
• Suboccipital muscles. These four muscles connect the top of your cervical spine from the base of your skull. They allow you to rotate and extend the head.

What are the ligaments of your cervical spine?

Three ligaments in your cervical spine connect bone to bone to help to keep your spine stable.

• The anterior longitudinal ligament extends from the base of your skull down the front of the cervical vertebra. It stretches to resist backward neck motion.
• The posterior longitudinal ligament starts at C2 and extends down the back of your cervical vertebrae. It stretches to resist forward neck motion.
• Ligamentum Flava ligaments line the backside of the inside opening of each vertebra where your spinal cord passes. These ligaments cover and protect your spinal cord from behind.

What do discs in the cervical spine do?

Cervical disks are the “shock absorber cushions” that sit between each vertebra. A total of six disks are positioned between the seven cervical vertebrae (one between two vertebrae).

In addition to cushioning against stresses placed on your neck, the disks allow you to flex and rotate your head more easily during activity.

Nerves in the cervical spine

Eight nerves exit through small openings of your spine between every vertebra of your cervical spine. They are labeled C1 through C8 and stimulate the muscle movement in your neck, shoulders, arms, and hands and provide sensation.

• Cervical nerves C1, C2, and C3 control your forward, backward, side head, and neck movements. The C2 nerve provides sensation to the upper area of your head. The C3 gives a feeling to the back of your head and the side of your face.
• Cervical nerve 4 controls your upward shoulder motion and is one of the nerves that control your diaphragm (muscle at the bottom of your rib cage that helps you breathe). C4 provides sensation for parts of your neck, shoulders, and upper arms.
• Cervical nerve 5 controls the deltoid muscles of your shoulders and your biceps. C5 provides sensation to the upper part of your upper arm and your elbow.
• Cervical nerve 6 controls the extensor muscles of your wrist and is involved in the control of your biceps. C6 provides sensation to the thumb side of your forearm and hand.
• Cervical nerve 7 controls your triceps and wrist extensor muscles. C7 provides sensation to the back of your arm into your middle finger.
• Cervical nerve 8 controls your hands and gives sensation to the pinky side of your hand and forearm.

How can chiropractic care help you heal?

Let’s look at how a crash causes neck pain and how Chiropractic Clinics of South Florida can help you. First, we will look into the root cause of neck pain after an accident. The key to recovering from neck pain caused by a crash is understanding its cause and how chiropractic care can help. Your chiropractor can be beneficial in diagnosing neck pain and creating a treatment plan that will get you back to yourself and healthy again.

How can chiropractic care help you heal?
Let’s look at how a crash causes neck pain and how Chiropractic Clinics of South Florida can help you. But first, we will look into the root cause of neck pain after an accident.

The key to recovering from neck pain caused by a crash is understanding its cause and how chiropractic care can help. Your chiropractor can be beneficial in diagnosing neck pain and creating a treatment plan that will get you back to yourself and healthy again.

Chiropractic care is an effective way to treat neck and back pain. Let our professionals at Chiropractic Clinics of South Florida, with seven convenient locations, help you. An injury or any pain not taken care of can become an overwhelming issue down the road.