Hi. I have neck problems after being rear-ended. 2 years after the crash and I am now suffering the worst pain in my upper arm and forearm and really bad in the wrist. It never stops aching and my arm hurts when I use it and it won't function properly. I am going to the Doctor tomorrow but have any of you experienced this after whiplash or neck problems? Thanks.

Hi,

Yes, I had a car accident over a year ago and have had severe neck pain, eventually pain/tingling spread to my left bicep, forearm and fingers, had a cervical MRI which showed a herniated disc at C7-T1 pressing on the C7 nerve which is why the pain is in my left arm/fingers, sometimes I drop things.

My neck pain got worse as time went by, even after PT etc, then about 8 months after accident the pain was in my arm.

Good luck at the doctor's, I was told an injury can show up years after an accident/whiplash so please look after yourself as it can all get worse, hope the Dr will help you.

Whiplash can sometimes be a factor for acquiring thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) for short.

Visit our TOS forum for more info - explore the sticky threads there..
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum24.html

Thank you. I have had neck and shoulder problems for all of the 2 years after whiplash but my arm has never been this bad until the last few months. Had an MRI of cervical spine a few weeks ago and will get the result tomorrow but I feel I am not using my arm in the right way because it is painful and it doesn't work properly and my wrist is so painful across the top with pain going into the fingers. The upper arm hurts so much when I reach out and the forearm is painful to do anything - even typing this. It also feels very heavy and in the night my fingers do go numb. I think a nerve is being pinched.

It could be due to internal 'scarring" of some sort after the accident, it takes time for that to appear and cause troubles.

I don't know how you feel about chiropractic, but if nothing is an issue in the c spine then soft tissue could be the cause.

Might be some trigger points, muscle spasms , misalignments..
an expert chiropractor can be helpful or an advanced PT.

I had the best relief from very good chiro & advanced PT people.

Thank you very much for your help. Going to the Doctor today.

Let us know how you make out.

I got whiplash in an MVA, too. My neck and sight rhoulder were thrown back so violently that, among other things, it tore the rotator cuff.

As others have mentioned whiplash can be a trigger for TOS and carpal tunnel.

Good luck

Thank you Hockey. I am going for a few tests now. One is ultrasound of shoulder. So we will see what shows up. thanks again.