In a car crash, your head can be very rapidly and aggressively whipped about. This motion can damage many assorted areas of your neck, including the blood vessels that supply your brain.
The spinal blood vessels are especially vulnerable, because they actually pass through the cervical spinal vertebrae.
While your neck is whipped like that, the blood vessels can be torqued or stretched out, damaging the lining of the arteries. This can cause irritation or tearing, and in some cases, can block the circulation of blood.
Symptoms of vertebral artery trauma can be experienced as a pain in the rear of the head that gets worse over time, and it can be on either side of the head or in the middle. Sometimes the pain is felt as dull, and in some cases it might feel like a build-up in pressure or a pulsating feeling.
If you have these warning signs, it's essential that you get medical attention as soon as possible.
If you have been in a car wreck, Dr. Helton is here to help. We can help identify the root source of your pain and develop a treatment plan to help you reclaim your health. We have helped many patients in Portland (Woodstock, Sellwood) heal from these sorts of problems.
Call our office today at (503) 771-1974 for a consultation or for more advice.