Question
Dear Sir
My wife says she was suffering from severe neck pain and could not swallow food.
When she went to her parents home for some urgent work , her father got her treated with a neighbour doctor for her neck pain and found her husband had strangulated her.
She got a MRI scan saying "Straightening of Cervical Spine"
No where in the report it is mentioned as wound, hurt or injury or any kind of rashes

How is it possible when I have not strangulated her for her to get neck pain  and MRI scan report

On what occasions can Straightening of Cervical Spine occur ?


Regards
Chandrashekar


Answer
Dear Chandrashekar,

Straightening of the cervical spine happens all the time just due to poor posture and the effects of gravity on the neck.  It is common in all professions requiring desk work, forward neck postures, computer works, and even in kids who play video games...it is also frequently found after car crashed due to the forces transmitted through the spine.

I see this in my clinical practice all the time across all age ranges. I have even seen it in children as young as7, 8 and 9 years of age.  It is one of the most common findings on x-rays of the neck.

This is a nonspecific finding that can be related to normal stresses of living, and could have been present for years.  As a matter of fact it is enough to actually cause neck pain due to the muscular and ligamentous strain.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net