[willgardner]

I started having involuntary muscle contractions after sustaining a concussion. wondering if anyone has a similar experience or if this is another injury other than a brain one as I was involved in a car accident. My neck shakes (like saying yes or no) and the muscles in my shoulder contract and stay there for a while(contraction, not shaking). my arms or hands would shake.

[Mark in Idaho]

will,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Many have experienced various muscle movements. Upper neck inflammation can cause all kinds of strange muscle issues. Have you been treated for a neck injury ?

[anon1028]

welcome to the club of weird things happening mark in Idaho is the expert around here. feel free to ask questions

[Hockey]

I also sustained my TBI in a car accident. Like you, my muscles seem to have their own agenda. For example, my hand will fly open (usually when I'm holding something hot or fragile), I get terrible spasms, my hands shake and I have various facial ticks.

As Mark said, these problems stem mostly from nerve damage in my neck from whiplash. After an MVA, stabilizing the neck, through good posture, pt and, if necessary/possible, surgical intervention, is very important.

A simple home test for neck instability is to put on a cervical collar and see if your symptoms improve. As it was deemed too risky to operate on my neck, when I'm having a really bad day, my PT still has me "collar up." Among other things, my headaches get less severe.

In the interim, you might want to consider icing the back of your neck to get some relief.

Welcome to NT.

[willgardner]

Thank you everyone for your answers. I did sustain a whiplash, but unfortunately, I have not been able to get neck treatments as neck manipulation worsens my concussion symptoms(in particular, dizziness, nausea, headache). It could be that I was was unlucky and both a chiro and RMT that I saw were not mindful of my brain injury. I am getting acupuncture for it, but do you think I should do more? Any recommendations?

I got a neck MRI done, and I was told that "everything is normal". Do these things show up on MRI?

[SarahSmile0205]

My neck MRI showed that I have herniated c5,6,7 and they are pressing on my spinal cord... when they get moved or aggravated it causes me to have involuntary movements...

[Hockey]

How long ago was your mva? You could have a bruised spine (traumatic myelopathy). In that case, you could have your symptoms, but without structural damage that would show on an MRI.

If your spine is bruised, swelling could be interfering with nerve signals. When I was first injured, I had a neck circumference that would have made a linebacker blush.

As the swelling reduces, your nerve may come back online. Nerves can regrow, but very slowly. However, having been down for awhile, it could take time for them to send the proper signals. It can be quite painful, when the nerves "wake up." Other nerves might just be dead or permanently damaged.

Overtime, I got somethings back, but not all. For example, I have very little dexterity in my hands. In my case, I had both bruising and structural damage.

[willgardner]

Thank you, everyone for sharing. Hockey, thank you for letting me know about structural bruising. It's' been 9 months since the MVA. I notice that my posture does affect the movements. What treatments have you gotten for this?

[Hockey]

Nine months isn't long in a whiplash injury. The swelling might just be starting to subside. Ironically, that can contribute to instability, and exasperate symptoms.

I think you might really need a through examination of your neck. Have you seen a physical medical specialist or neuro-surgeon? If you don't require surgical stabilization, you might benefit from PT.

The therapist could help you improve your posture and give you simple exercises, like isometrics, to strengthen your neck. Quite a lot of muscle atrophy can occur while you're swollen after the whiplash. When my swelling finally subsided, my chin was on my chest.

[willgardner]

Originally Posted by Hockey

Nine months isn't long in a whiplash injury. The swelling might just be starting to subside. Ironically, that can contribute to instability, and exasperate symptoms.

I think you might really need a through examination of your neck. Have you seen a physical medical specialist or neuro-surgeon? If you don't require surgical stabilization, you might benefit from PT.

The therapist could help you improve your posture and give you simple exercises, like isometrics, to strengthen your neck. Quite a lot of muscle atrophy can occur while you're swollen after the whiplash. When my swelling finally subsided, my chin was on my chest.

JESUS! chin on your chest. that is scary. I really want to get a through examination on my neck. I have seen a chiro, RMT, physio therapist. The PT I saw told me I have carpal tunnel instead of a problem with my neck. I should try a different PT. did not realize finding a good therapist was this difficult.