Re: Spinal pain
bae_at_cs.toronto.no-uce.edu.yyz
Date: 07/28/04
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Date: 28 Jul 2004 13:38:59 GMT
In article <A_zNc.54445$qK.10537@amsnews02.chello.com>,
John den Haan <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>Today, whilst doing a cartwheel, my hand slipped (damn patch of mud) and I
>fell really badly, with my head first. My body was folded over my neck, with
>my chin pressing against my chest.
Ouch!
You've obviously stretched your neck muscles a lot further than they
normally go. No wonder it hurts!
Btw, this sort of injury is common when a car strikes an object in front
of it. The driver's head keeps moving while his body is restrained by the
shoulder belt. The chin strikes the chest, often hard enough for both
chin and chest to be bruised. The muscles hurt like hell, but the spine
is flexible enough to escape injury.
>I immediately stood up (I sighed relief when I was able to do this) and
>checked vital functions: everything's working okay. Except for my neck
>ofcourse, which hurts like madness. I went to a PE, just to make sure I had
>no dislocation or anything, but he didn;t even touch my spine to check their
>form. He just made me do some excercises (he put pressure on my head in
>various ways and I had to fight it), which I luckily were able to complete
>all. He concluded that it must be a bruise, considering I have no tingling
>sensation in my legs or arms or anywhere. Can this conclusion be drawn
>without actually touching my spine? Not that I don't trust the man, I just
>find it odd...
Your spine is encased in muscles and other tissues that make it hard to
palpate. If he could feel an injury through them, you wouldn't have been
able to walk in -- you'd have been in the emergency room on a stretcher.
You might also be screaming trying some of those exercises.
>Well, what kind of bruise could it be? My discs/vertebrae actually hurt when
>I press on them. Is that normal with an accident like mine and will it
>pass/heal?
You're pressing on the strained and bruised muscles that surround and are
attached to the spine. They take the strain to protect the spine.
>Looking back at the moment, I'm really scared, as I could have ended with
>some sort of spinal lesion.... It really makes me think on how precious this
>body actually is and how much care I should take to protect it...
Like most strained muscles, it will hurt more the next day, but gradually
improve as swelling subsides and the injury heals. If you've ever strained
a muscle elsewhere, you know what it's like. If it doesn't improve,
or you notice any numbness, weakness or tingling in your body, go back to
the doctor. If you're really worried, you could ask your doctor to do some
imaging, or a referral, but xrays don't often show much except in severe
injuries.
In future, be more careful of the surface when you do gymnastics!
>Thanks for any replies,
DISCLAIMER:
I have no medical qualifications, so you may prefer to ignore the above in
favour of the advice of real doctors on the list. The tendency in the US
is to do a lot more imaging, testing and referral to specialists than is the
norm in Europe and elsewhere. This is one reason that medical care is so
much more expensive in the US, while not having significantly better outcomes
than in Europe.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Let us know what happens.
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