5 Common Neck Injuries After Car Accidents

When you’re in a car accident, your seat belt usually holds your body still; your head is another story.

The average human head weighs between 7 and 11 pounds (about 3.5 pounds of that is your brain), and it sits on top of the thinnest part of your ordinarily sturdy spine.

Neck injuries are some of the most commonly reported injuries after car accidents, but how much do you really know about them?

The Most Commonly Suffered Neck Injuries During a Car Crash

Even minor car accidents can result in neck injuries.

Some injuries can take days—even weeks—to show up, which poses a serious problem for people who walked away from a crash thinking they were okay.

It’s important that you’re evaluated by a medical professional right after your accident; if you start to experience symptoms of any neck injury in the days and weeks ahead, please go back to the doctor immediately.

The five most common neck injuries after a crash are:

1. Whiplash. Whiplash is a result of your head being forced back, your neck muscles responding milliseconds later and trying to right your head, and the momentum of your body forcing your head forward.
   It can result in severe pain and stiffness, ringing in the ears that won’t go away, headaches and back pain that can extend down into your arms.
2. Neck strain. Neck strain occurs when the muscles in your neck are overextended or torn. A neck strain injury is just like pulling a muscle in another part of your body.
3. Neck sprain. The muscles in your neck are connected to your bones by ligaments; when those ligaments stretch too far or tear, you’re suffering from a neck sprain.
4. Pinched nerves. Fragments of ruptured discs or bones can poke into the delicate nerves that run along your spine and out into your body; that’s what medical professionals frequently call a “pinched nerve.”
5. Herniated discs. During an accident, the pressure on your spinal discs can prove too much. When those discs are compressed too far, the soft substance inside can cause them to burst, causing pain, weakness and numbness.

If you’ve suffered a neck injury in a car accident, don’t wait to see a doctor.

Research has shown that the sooner your injury is treated, the better your prognosis will be.

Once you’ve seen a physician, talk to your attorney; he’ll probably ask to see your medical records and start to build a strategy so that the person responsible is held accountable.