You may experience delayed pain in areas of your body after a car crash or a workplace accident. If you hit your head during an auto accident, you are likely to experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, brain fog, light sensitivity, and fatigue. These are all symptoms of a traumatic brain injury, which can be very serious and result in permanent damage if not treated by a medical professional.
An experienced personal injury attorney in Houston can help you recognize these symptoms and fight for your deserved compensation following a traffic accident.
Potential Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury
Neck pain is a less-common symptom of traumatic brain injury that many accident victims do not usually associate with concussions or a hard blow to the head. Many accident victims experience neck pain days, weeks, or months after sustaining a concussion or whiplash injury and are unaware that it is a sign of a traumatic brain injury.
Acute neck pain complaints were reported by 156 patients out of 922 patients admitted to the emergency room for traumatic brain injuries, according to a recent study. The patients’ reported neck pain was discovered to be linked to their brain injuries. These findings revealed that recognizing neck pain as part of a TBI and treating the brain injury as soon as possible were critical to the patient’s ability to recover as much as possible from the traumatic brain injury.
Some signs of neck pain that may be associated with a traumatic brain injury include:
- Sharp and ongoing pain
- Tension
- Stiffness
- Pain when looking in a certain direction
- Pain associated with certain behaviors
- Feeling as if you are unable to support the weight of your head
- Weakness or tingling in the arms, legs, hands, or fingers
- Worsening of these symptoms over time
If you’re suffering from neck pain as a result of a car accident or another incident involving a hit to the head, see a doctor right away. Your Houston auto accident lawyer can help you find a physician and determine if you have grounds for a compensation claim.
How Can Neck Pain Be a Sign of Traumatic Brain Injury?
There are a variety of post-concussion or traumatic brain injury issues that can result in neck pain. There could be a physical injury to the neck as a result of whiplash or a fall, or there could be nervous system dysfunction as a result of the head injury.
Neck pain is commonly associated with TBI for the following reason:
- Physical injury to the neck’s soft tissue or bones, including sprains, strains, tissue tears, and broken bones.
- Damage to nerves in the neck causes tension, inflammation, blood pressure changes, and more.
- Injury-induced vision and hearing changes may put stress on the neck muscles.
- Altered pain perception is caused by damage to the area of the brain that senses pain.
- Compensation behaviors to reduce pain in other areas, such as changing posture and moving the head in a certain way to avoid pain, all putting pressure on the neck muscles.
- Misalignment of the spinal column, including herniated discs, vertebrae out of place, and spinal cord damage.
Any of these conditions can cause severe neck pain and may indicate a traumatic brain injury. Patients who have been in an accident often have multiple symptoms and should be treated carefully under the supervision of a medical professional who is familiar with brain injuries. If the victim already has a degenerative disorder, such as scoliosis, a head injury can quickly exacerbate that condition, resulting in increased neck pain for the injured party.
Diagnostic imaging is frequently used by doctors to determine whether a patient has suffered a traumatic brain injury and to gain a better understanding of how it may be causing neck pain. An X-ray can be used to examine the bone structure and rule out any broken bones. If the victim’s bone structure appears to be normal, a doctor may proceed to a cervical spine MRI. MRIs reveal the body’s soft tissue structure and can reveal soft tissue damage, herniated discs, and other issues. It’s one of the most effective ways for a doctor to diagnose a traumatic brain injury and its accompanying neck pain, as well as one of the most effective ways for a doctor to recommend the best treatment for these serious injuries.
If you have any questions following a serious car crash, consult an attorney right away.
Car Crash Attorneys in Houston
There are many ways you or a loved one can be injured following a car crash, and you should never pursue a personal injury claim without the help of a Houston personal injury lawyer. West Loop Law and the Law Office of Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD is here to help you obtain fair compensation after being injured in an accident. We have been fighting for the rights of victims since 2003, and we will make sure you get the maximum settlement.
Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD and Nader Rabie, JD are here to help you make a complete recovery after a severe car accident.
Contact our law offices immediately at (713) 840-7200 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation if you or a loved one has been unfairly injured by another party.
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