Your spine and neck both are interconnected in a way that the latter is part of the spine. Neck is the common word. The more technical term for neck is the cervical spine.
The bones in your neck are the top part of your backbone and this is called the cervical spine. In this post, we will explore if there is a connection between spinal injuries and neck pain.
The link between backbone abnormalities and neck pain
There are several types of spinal disorders, abnormalities, and injuries that can cause back bone inflammation and pain. Although spinal injuries might cause neck pain, it is more likely if the condition is in the cervical spine.
For the sake of information, the backbone of a human being is divided into four parts medically for the sake of effortless understanding and communication. The spine has four parts: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, and Sacral.
If the injury is related to the Cervical Spine—the bone of your neck, it will cause neck pain. However, any other injury, anywhere in the spine, might also cause neck pain under certain circumstances.
If you involved yourself in a road accident that traumatised your spine or any other external trauma and then afterwards, you have started experiencing extreme back pain, pressure and pain in the neck, and automatic muscle contractions, it is time you consult an orthopedic doctor for the best diagnosis and post-diagnostic care.
Not seeking medical attention in time for your spinal injuries might make you more susceptible to paralysis. Thus, consult the best cervical pain doctor in Delhi NCR.
Types of spinal injuries
Your backbone is the most complicated part of your skeletal system. To surface its importance, consider this fact: the spine is the only way to establish communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
The following are major spinal injuries that might cause neck pain.
SCI: Spinal cord injuries are conditions where nerves in your backbone get damaged. It could happen because of external traumas and internal underlying disorders like cancer or osteoporosis.
Spinal cord abnormalities are of four types based on the segmentation of the backbone: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, and Sacral. The injuries in the cervical and thoracic spinal cord can initiate extreme neck or back pain.
Compression Fractures: If you have the condition of osteoporosis or weak bone, you are easily susceptible to these types of fractures. In this condition, your spinal bones collapse and cause impingement, leading to the condition of spinal inflammation.
Fracture-Dislocation: External traumatising events can cause fractures and displacements initiating neck and back pain.
Spinal Stenosis: Our backbone is a structure that is made up of various units called vertebrae. These units form the line of the spine in such a way that there is space running vertically; it is also the space where the spinal cord is found. This space is called the spinal canal.
When this spinal canal narrows down because of some disorder, injury or degeneration, this term is called spinal stenosis. In this condition, it is more likely that you develop neck pain over time as your nerves get severely compressed in stenosis.
Spondylolisthesis: This is a condition related to your spinal bone unit called a vertebra. This spinal abnormality occurs when one vertebra moves out of its place and slips forward onto the vertebra below the first one.
Spinal Tumours: This is nothing but an abnormal growth within the spinal canal or bone that might cause spine inflammation and the probable accompanying neck pain.
Degenerative Disc Disease: With age, most of your body parts go through degenerative processes. Your body parts wear down and become weak. This means loss of your bone strength and resilience.
Why does neck pain occur?
Neck can be painful only because of two types of injuries—bone-related disorders and soft-tissue injuries. If it is related to muscles, ligaments, tendons or other soft-tissue structures, it is called soft injuries. And if a condition is related to the cervical vertebrae, this is a bone-related disorder.
Furthermore, strain and sprain can also cause neck pain and discomfort. To avoid such damage, ensure you stay away from twisting, sudden, and abrupt motion.
Ways to prevent spinal injuries
Although we cannot control everything, paying attention to the following things will help minimise the chances of injuries.
Avoid Harmful Activities: If you love adventure sports like base jumping, bull riding, bungy jumping, rock climbing, etc, beware; all these activities have a very high risk of spinal injuries as accidents happen. Try to do something safe for recreational purposes.
Ensure a Balanced Diet: Avoid junk food and eat as much healthy and home-cooked food as possible. Ensure calcium, vitamin D, and protein for better spinal bone and muscle strength. Add vitamin C and E rich items to your diet to combat oxidative stress.
Exercise: Train your body through weight lifting regularly along with flexibility exercises. This helps you strengthen your spine and the spinal muscles making it more resilient against external traumas.
Sleep Adequately: This helps rejuvenate stress fractures and muscle strain as the body naturally goes into the rehabilitation mode after sleeping. Thus, sleep each night at least for 7 to 8 hours.
Drink Enough Water: Human body is approximately 60-75% water. Many parts of your body need constant lubrication, for example your mouth. Thus, to maintain your overall health, ensure you drink plenty of water. Fight dehydration.
Quit Substance Abuse: Psychoactive substances like cigarettes, alcohol, etc are bad as they hinder the proper absorption of essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc causing bone weakening and weak immune system. Thus, ensure you quit such unhealthy habits.
When to see a doctor
When your back and neck both are very painful and the condition doesn’t get better through normal painkillers, you must consult the best orthopedic doctor; you can even consult the neck pain specialist in Delhi or near your location.
