Neck and Headache Pain After a Car Accident
If you’ve ever been involved in a car accident, chances are you may have experienced some type of injury.
In 2020, there were 29,418 car crashes reported in Nebraska and a total of 14,100 injuries, according to the 2020 Annual Report on Traffic Crashes by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
The most common injury from a car accident is a whiplash injury that affects the soft tissue in the neck and upper back. A person can also experience headache pain from a concussion, post-traumatic brain injury, pinched nerve, or muscle strain.
Sometimes symptoms from an injury may not show up for a day, a week, or even a month later. Injuries that go untreated can result in more serious long-term pain. The physicians at Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska are experienced in evaluating and treating individuals who suffer with neck and headache pain after a car accident.
Types of Neck and Headache Pain
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries from car accidents. It is the result of neck muscles and ligaments becoming strained by sudden movement of your head and neck, or when the head is impacted by hitting the steering wheel or side window. This type of pain may not surface right away and can include problems with vision, dizziness, and concentration and memory problems.
Other symptoms can include:
- Pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion in the neck
- Headaches located at the base of the skull
- Pain in upper back, shoulder, or arm areas
- Tingling or numbness in the arm
- Fatigue
Treating Pain with Radiofrequency Ablation
One successful treatment that physicians at Innovative Pain & Spine have found to be effective in relieving headache and neck pain after a car accident is radiofrequency ablation, also referred to as radiofrequency denervation. Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive procedure that uses heat to interrupt or stop the nerve pain signals that get sent to your brain. Traditional types of pain treatment may not be able to stop the continuous pain messages which results in chronic pain.
With radiofrequency ablation, our physicians can target the source using a needle-sized probe which creates a heat lesion that disrupts painful nerves from continuing to send signals to the brain. Using digital imaging to guide the needles into the source of the pain, a tiny electrode in the needles releases radiofrequency energy that heats the nerves and makes them non functioning. This procedure is performed in the office under light sedation and typically takes less than 30 minutes. The effectiveness can last from six months to two years and patients have seen significant - 70-85% - improvement.
There are many benefits from receiving radiofrequency ablation, such as:
- Avoiding surgery
- Experiencing immediate relief from pain
- Requiring little to no recovery time
- Reducing the need for other pain medication
- Improving function and mobility
Don’t Wait to Treat Neck and Headache Pain
If you or someone you know has been experiencing neck and/or headache pain after an accident and have not found relief from other pain therapies, radiofrequency ablation may be the next step in finding relief. Don’t wait any longer. Our experienced physicians at Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska can help you.