Causes
The causes of trauma to the cervical spine are usually so-called high speed traumas.These are mostly accidents in which the body is abruptly braked from a high speed. The most common is “whiplash“, which occurs in road traffic as a result of rear-end collisions. The physical law of inertia ensures that the driver’s head is first accelerated in the direction of travel, then abruptly braked and “thrown” backwards against the direction of travel (acceleration-braking mechanism). If the headrest is missing to stop the movement, the danger of suffering great damage is enormous. Apart from driving a car, sports such as cycling, skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding, martial arts and motorcycling are associated with corresponding risks of suffering cervical trauma.
Symptoms
The symptoms can be very different. In each case, the trauma causes a reflex tension of the muscles. At the moment of the accident, the muscles immediately build up a protective tension, which manifests itself in painful tension.
The musculature in the shoulder and neck area thus feels firm and sensitive. This can also lead to restrictions in movement – the head can no longer be turned and tilted to the side. In severe cases, this can lead to circulatory disorders or disorders of the nervous system. In these cases the following symptoms can occur in addition to pain: Nausea, dizziness, hearing and visual disturbances, disorientation and disturbances of the balance.
Diagnosis
After a trauma to the cervical spine, it must first be ruled out that injuries to ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, intervertebral discs or facet joints of the spine are present. If the casualty is responsive, the doctor will ask some questions to determine if the casualty is oriented. After excluding bony injuries, he will test the mobility and ask which complaints are indicated.
If injuries are suspected, imaging procedures will be used. The bony structures can be well visualized by x-rays from the front and the side. If necessary, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is also used to assess soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, blood vessels, nerve tissue). You may also be interested in this area: Therapy of a spinous process fracture.