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Head Injury, Sore Neck, Pain In Shoulder Blade

Posted on Thu, 24 May 2012

Question: I am 26 Years. I was in the car with a friend 3 days ago when I hit my head on the inside roof the of the car. I was lifting myself up to rotate my seating position when my friend hit a bad bump in the road which lead me to banging my head. My head was slightly bent to the left when it happened. My neck was very sore for the rest of the day but on the following day I had this sharp and horrible pain around my left shoulder blade. The pain has continued for 3 days so far and is so bad I cannot sleep at night. It hurts when I move my head to the left or when I move my arm in any direction. Should I see a DR due to this being something that needs to be looked at or am I fine taking Advil and letting it work itself out in hopes the pain doesn't get worse? If I can just leave it be what else can I do in regards to the pain?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (55 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for writing to us.

Due to a sudden jerk in your neck during the mishap, your nerves and muscles of the neck has got stretched and got injured causing the pain.
In my opinion you should consult your orthopaedician to rule out any minor injury to your cervical spine and any nerve compression.

Till that time doing a hot compress, applying a local analgesic gel, taking a good muscle relaxant like thiocolchicoside along with advil will help you.
You also need to give rest to your neck using a cervical collar.

I hope my answer and recommendations are adequate and helpful. Waiting for your further follow up queries if any.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (1 hour later)

Would a Muscle relaxant help with the pain also and I would need to see a DR to receive one am I correct? As for a topical analgesic I have been using Voltaren twice a day for the past 2 days on it, is that good or should I try something else?

The pain (around my left shoulder blade) is worse when I am laying down, could that be a sign that it is more then a stretched nerve/muscle?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (1 hour later)

Hello.

Thanks for writing back.

The muscle relaxant will only relax the spasmodic muscles. You need an analgesic in addition to it for pain relief. You need to have a prescription to get a muscle relaxant from chemist. Voltaren is fine but hot fomentation is a must before applying the gel for best efficacy.

Pain around the shoulder is most likely to be due to nerve irritation but some things are best if diagnosed after examination.

Continue these measures for 2 days, If your pain does not subside you can visit a doctor.

Avoid lying down on your left shoulder instead lie down straight or on your right side.

I hope I have answered your query.

Wishing you an early recovery.

Regards,

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E