When You Need a Neurologist: Brooklyn Treatment Options After a Car Accident

The force of impact from a car crash often results in headaches and neck pain. People suffer damage to the spinal region that causes nerve-related injuries. These conditions are frequently incapacitating because they limit movement and physical tasks necessary to daily life. Pain is an overwhelming concern, especially when medical care doesn’t address the underlying problems.

Neurologists are medical doctors trained to treat nervous system and brain conditions. They provide neurological treatment designed to manage the unique complications of neurologic disorders. If you are in a car accident in Brooklyn, New York, schedule an appointment with Metro Healthcare Partners to have your head and neck pain evaluated.

Why Should You See a Neurologist for Headache Treatment After a Car Accident?

You might not think headaches after a car accident are cause for concern. However, car crashes contribute to 14% of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the U.S. each year. An undiagnosed TBI or serious concussion could lead to devastating outcomes. Many times the initial symptoms are painful and persistent headaches.

A neurology specialist examines your speech, mental acuity, vision, coordination, and reflexes to determine the presence or extent of head trauma. If we require more diagnostics, our experienced neurologists order the necessary tests to provide you with focused and personalized care.

Why Should You See a Neurologist for Neck Pain?

In January 2022, there were 2,299 car accident injuries in New York City. Many crashes cause whiplash injuries that involve nerve pain or impingements (pinched nerves). Without treating the root condition, pain ranges from agitating to debilitating. Headaches from neck injuries are common.

Recovery from whiplash takes weeks, months, or longer if the injury is severe. Whiplash has the potential to lead to worse physical outcomes. An undiagnosed impingement can lead to permanent nerve damage and chronic pain. Neurological treatment focuses on the source of your symptoms and ways to limit trauma through therapeutics and medication regimens.

What Are Symptoms of Neck Pain and Headaches?

Neck trauma and headaches interrelate because of shared nerve bundles throughout the head and neck regions. Injuries can be difficult to isolate because the pain radiates from the neck to the head. Our doctors know how to assess the symptoms and treat complex conditions.

Neck Pain Symptoms

Neck pain is frequently irritating or agonizing and requires prompt treatment for relief of these symptoms:

• Dull to intense headaches
• Persistent shoulder pain
• Aching neck area
• Sharp or shooting pain in the neck region
• Numbness and tingling in upper extremities (arms and hands)

An injury to the cervical vertebrae that results in nerve pain can severely limit range of motion in the neck and cause chronic headaches. Visit with a neurologist to determine the cause.

Headache Symptoms

Headaches from post-traumatic shock, muscle strain, whiplash, and nerve impingement occur in auto accidents. Compressed spinal nerve roots radiate pain up the back of the skull. The compression results in tenderness, tingling, burning, and numbness that prompt painful pinched-nerve headaches.

How Does a Neurology Doctor Diagnose Your Injuries?

A neurological exam is one of the primary methods a neurology specialist uses to diagnose your health condition. This in-depth physical examination incorporates your previous history and your current symptoms. If you’ve been in a car accident, doctors need to understand all the variables contributing to your health issues. Neurologists perform a series of tests to identify the complexities of your condition.

After a thorough patient evaluation, it is often necessary to use advanced neurodiagnostic screening to locate the specific problem. These are five types of neurologic tests doctors use:

1. Electroencephalography (EEG)
2. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
3. Computed tomography (CT)
4. Computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scans
5. Nerve conduction velocity and electromyography (NCV/EMG)

The NCV and EMG tests aid the discovery of nerve injuries. EMGs record electrical activity that passes through the muscles, while NCVs record the speed of electrical signals through the peripheral nerves. These tests help locate nerve dysfunction. NCVs also track healing.  

How Does a Neurologist Treat Your Headaches and Neck Pain?

Depending on the seriousness of nerve injuries, recovery times and outcomes differ on a case-by-case basis. A core treatment plan objective is to manage symptoms until recovery takes place. These are various therapeutics neurologists use for nerve pain:

• Heat and cold therapies: These reduce swelling and help with patient comfort.
• Medications: Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce swelling and pain. Muscle relaxants relieve muscle tightness that limits the range of motion.
• Injections: An injection at the site of an injury can reduce swelling and allow healing.
• Nerve block (therapeutic): An injection or oral medication eases chronic nerve pain by blocking signals to nerve groups in a particular region of the body.
• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS): A TENS device delivers mild electrical impulses through electrodes attached to the skin for pain relief.

Pain management is a crucial part of neurologic care.

How Does a Neurologist Manage Pain?

Along with medication and nerve stimulation therapies, a neurologist may suggest essential lifestyle changes for pain management. Lifestyle practices can have a significant effect on general well-being. These are areas that improve quality of life:

• Exercise: A reasonable amount of daily exercise can improve pain tolerance. Depending on the nerve injury, your doctor may recommend light activity for strength and stamina.
• Diet: A diet of healthy foods helps the body repair damage faster. Small changes affect mood and balance body systems for healing.
• Sleep: A consistent sleep regimen is important for good health. The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine reports that sleep is vital to brain trauma recovery, such as a concussion.

Your Dr. works with you to determine effective ways to manage your pain and move toward the goal of healing.

Get Services From Caring Neurological Specialists

Our practice at Metro Healthcare Partners in Brooklyn, NY, brings together experienced physicians to treat our patients with quality care from a full range of healthcare services. Our goal with each case is to treat the person by evaluating your symptoms and searching for the causes.

Our highly trained neurologists provide headache treatment and neck pain care after an auto accident. Don’t delay scheduling treatment if you are in pain. Our neurologists accept workers’ compensation, no-fault, PIP (Personal Injury Protection), medical liens, and most health insurance plans. We are here for you, and we welcome walk-ins or appointments. Contact our office to learn more about our multi-specialty services and state-of-the-art facility.

Sources:

https://www.aan.com/tools-resources/what-is-a-neurologist

https://treatnow.org/knowledgebase/car-accidents-and-brain-injury-statistics-2020/

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/traffic_data/cityacc-en-us.pdf

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/whiplash-injury

https://acrm.org/rehabilitation-research/sleep-essential-brain-surgery-recovery/