Cervical sprain

Mechanism and manifestations

Pain, stiffness and reduced movement may follow trauma. Sprain can describe either a mild injury or an unstable lesion; severity cannot be inferred from the word alone.

Diagnosis and management

Assessment checks for fracture, instability and neurological injury; imaging depends on clinical criteria. Once serious injury is excluded, graded activity and tailored exercises may be offered. Any manual care must respect stability and tolerance.

Points to consider

After trauma, pain intensity and injury severity are not always proportional. Mechanism, level, neurological status and stability guide care. New weakness, sensory loss, breathing difficulty or impaired walking requires urgent assessment.

Role of TAGMED care

At TAGMED, assessment aims to understand symptoms, history and functional limitations. Manual care and osteopathy, motorized spinal decompression, laser and shockwave have different indications. The term described in this entry is not enough to select any of these modalities. Their relevance, limitations and possible contraindications should be discussed in relation to diagnosis and individual goals.

Related concepts and distinctions

These concepts belong to the same field, but are not synonyms.

• Cervical facet dislocation — Loss of normal alignment at one or both cervical facet joints, usually traumatic and often associated with substantial instability.
• Whiplash injury — Acceleration-deceleration mechanism affecting the neck that may cause associated symptoms without identifying one specific anatomical injury.
• Cervical teardrop fracture — Cervical fracture with a teardrop-shaped anteroinferior bone fragment, occurring through different mechanisms with variable stability.

Medical references

1. State Insurance Regulatory Authority, NSW. Quick reference guide for acute whiplash-associated disorders (2014 guidelines).
2. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Neck Pain.

References document the topic; their inclusion does not imply endorsement of TAGMED services by those organizations.