Neck strain treatment: Take these immediate steps

A neck strain injury can impact anyone at any time. From a receptionist who sits and their desk and types all day to a construction worker doing manual labor, you never know if you’ll find yourself facing this kind of work injury.

If you suffer from neck strain, it’s important to stop what you’re doing to assess your injury. Don’t assume you can fight through it and deal with the pain later. It’s particularly important to seek immediate medical care if:

• You were involved in an accident, such as a slip-and-fall or car crash that caused your strain.
• The pain from your neck is shooting into other parts of your body, such as your arms.
• You’re experiencing weakness and/or headaches.

Even if you don’t feel that you have a serious injury, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You may assume you have a neck strain, but it could actually be a much more serious problem, such as a herniated disk.

Your medical team can run a variety of tests to diagnose your exact injury. If a neck strain is found, they’ll then focus on:

• The use of heat to lessen the symptoms
• Medication, such as Tylenol or Advil, to reduce pain and discomfort
• Ways to avoid unnecessary strain, such as limiting your physical activity as you recover

If you suffer a neck strain injury on the job, stop what you’re doing to seek medical care. Also, report the injury to your employer so they understand that it occurred on the job. That’s important if you think you may need to file a workers’ comp claim in order to get your medical bills paid or cover missed wages.

It’s the steps you take immediately following a neck injury that improves your ability to obtain workers’ compensation benefits in the future.