by Tony Terranova Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:46 pm
Hi Nick,
I am not a doctor so please note my reply is only based on my personal experiences, continual learning, research and my logical engineering mind. Also please do not get too worried at some of my comments – it is important that we know all the details when we are injured to prevent us from doing any more potential damage – and remember you are young mate so your recovery will be fast.
Nick, first off you must make 100% sure that you have been correctly checked out and x-rayed as what you have described sounds like a spinal cord injury in which your neck vertebrae may have overlapped. If this is the case then a good doctor will explain how they can re-align the structure of your spine to relieve any pain or discomfort that you may be experiencing.
I too had a bad car crash many years ago (I went through the windscreen). Fortunately at the moment my head hit the screen the whole screen flipped off as the car had twisted like a corkscrew when it span into a ditch by the road and hit a tree at 60 miles an hour. I flew out the car like something out of a cartoon. I remember it all in slow motion and I can recall thinking “thank f..k for that I am not going to re-arrange my face” - and then I felt the pull of the seat belt which snapped at the anchor point and broke but was still on my waist - and it pulled me back into the car - I smashed the back of my head on the door post. My head was split wide open like a sliced melon. I remember I went through some very short successful rehabilitation work on my neck. I was young then (just like you) so my recovery was quick and permanent.
There are many reasons why you need to be sure on all the details of your injury. Her are a few of them for you think about.
The loss of neck curvature can reduce oxygen levels to the brain (because the brainstem may be placed in a tensed position); forward head posture can increase the weight of the head on the spine and can in some instances cause long term muscle strain - disc problems - arthritis and nerve pinching; it can also put a stretch the spinal cord which can lead to further complications in later years.
If you research Dr. Roger Sperry you will find he has written interesting articles. He says that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by spinal movement. The following is an extract on what has been said about his work: “His work showed that 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity. Only 10% has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing, so when you have forward head posture your brain will rob energy from your thinking, metabolism, and immune function to deal with abnormal gravity/posture relationships and processing”.
Nick if you are worried and not getting any better then consider making an appointment to see a specialist doctor with a proven track record of structural rehabilitation and express your worries and problems to the doctor – also remember to tell him that you are practicing martial arts and ask if it is safe for you to train (especially in the grappling arts). Also when you train grappling you should tell your instructor and training partner about any neck problems you have so they can adapt any moves to make sure you are OK. There are 3 rules to good training these are: Safety, Safety and Safety!.
Once you know more about your condition then you can begin to do some self help exercises. Go to Amazon and buy a book I have used for many years called “Sports Injuries a Self Help Guide” by Vivian Grisogono; ISBN #: 0-7195-4111-5. If you go to pages 238 through to 244 you will see the simple rehabilitation neck exercises that are basically used to rehabilitate and strengthen the neck. It will take some time and commitment on your part to do these isometric strength exercises. This manual therapy will compliment any rehab work your doctors may be also be doing on you. Also think about any postural factors that that may be adding to the problem, for example look carefully at how you sit at your computer all day long.
Now take a deep breath mate and stop worrying as I know you will make intelligent decisions on how you can sort this out. The fact is we all suffer injuries at some time or other (I have had plenty and still live with a few now).
In the martial arts father time has a habit of taking away what we inherited (a good genetically strong body with no injuries when we started training) and giving us what we deserve (a few aches and pains because we pushed ourselves maybe a little too hard).
Regards,
Tony. T
