Question
Hi, I was in a car accident a week ago, i am now suffering severe neck pain, i have been to the hospital and they said it would pass in a few days. I feel as if someone is sticking a red hot poker in the back of my neck but it is now traveling down my shoulder blades and down my spine.
I already suffer with lower back problems after falling off a horse 5 years ago and haven't had a lot of trouble with it for a while until the car accident. I am in constant pain at the minute as i feel as if the whole of my back is on fire is there anything i can do to relieve the pain other than painkillers(which aren't doing alot)
thanks sam

Answer
Hi Sammi-jo,

Ice it down by wrapping a warm moist towel around an ice filled Ziploc 10 minutes every hour avoiding heat at all costs. Heat will increase inflammation, not a good thing. Get a Chiropractor to x-ray your neck to rule out ligamentous instability by doing flexion/extension films. The study is called a "Davis Series" and is imperative to identify traumatic neck  injuries in car wrecks. I suspect your pain was probably worsened by using a hot pack, I could be wrong, but usually when "Red Hot Poker" is used to describe pain after a week, it is a safe assumption the patient was misinformed into thinking heat would help. If this isn't the case, and you have been using ONLY ice and it still feels this way, get to a doctor ASAP, preferably a Chiropractor that comes highly recommended.

Good Luck!

Dr. Timothy Durnin