Muscle Strain 

    What’s the difference between a STRAIN and a SPRAIN?

    The term “strain” is used for injuries to the tissues that MOVE: muscles and tendons.  The term “sprain” is used for injuries to NON-MOVING tissues: ligaments, cartilage, joint capsules, bursae.

    Ligaments are tough and fibrous tissues that connect bones together.  A sprained ligament gets suddenly stretched beyond its normal length.  A torn ligament can no longer hold the bones in the proper position.  If the neck ligaments are sprained or torn from an auto accident, sports injury or other trauma.   

    Still, some doctors use STRAIN and SPRAIN interchangeably.  

    Neck strains can be caused by sitting too long at a computer with your head leaning forward.  The same can apply to watching TV or sitting in a classroom.  Our necks are very vulnerable to injury.  The neck supports the heavy weight of the skull.  The average human head weighs between 9 and 17 pounds.  Amazingly, the first bone of the neck (cervical spine), the Atlas Vertebra weighs only 2 ounces. 

    Compared to the middle and lower back, the neck has fewer muscles.  Nevertheless, the neck has to endure complicated ranges of motion.  There are many critical anatomical structures including the spinal cord, blood vessels that go to the brain, and the airway.  Neck STRAINS do not usually affect any of these structures.

    Any way you slice it, strains and sprains hurt!  Ligaments covering the cervical vertebrae (neck bones) can tear.  This can in turn, cause injuries to the nerves that branch off of the spinal cord and  out of the neck.  These are called NERVE ROOTS.  They can become compressed or “pinched.”

    The neck can be injured in so many ways.  Muscle strains and joint sprains are common.  Whiplash injuries are an example of such. 

[Click HERE to learn about treatment for Whiplash Injuries]  

    The neck is very complicated, and injury to it should never be taken lightly.  A thorough evaluation is necessary to determine how severe an injury is.  Many people strain or sprain their neck and the pain is temporary.  Rest and ice are all they need.  Other still think they’ve merely strained or “pulled” a neck muscle—but the pain lingers for months or years.  

    If you’ve got numbness or tingling in your hands, odds are that your injury is more than just a strained muscle or sprained ligament.  It means that the NERVES are affected.  Symptoms of strains or sprain include: pain, swelling or bruising.  Sometimes a muscle can become weak.  Activities of daily living are often to blame. 

    The most important thing is that your neck must never be neglected.  The health of your neck affects the health of your body.  

    Never let a neck injury linger.  If it's not getting better, do not accept that you have to "learn to live with pain."  

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 Is Helping Sprains and Strains

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Dr. Donald Liebell
477 Viking Drive Suite 170
Virginia Beach, VA 23452 
(757) 631-9799 

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