My neck is pinched and it hurts to swallow

The pain when swallowing is caused by the neck being pinched is usually due to local soft tissue contusion. You can take some blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs orally. In this case, try not to use plasters. You can apply local heat. Talk less, try to eat liquid food, and take some anti-inflammatory drugs. Try to let the soft tissue of your neck recuperate for a few days, and it will return to normal after a few days.

Soft tissue contusion

Soft tissue contusion refers to different types of damage to the muscles, ligaments, fascia, tendons, synovium, fat, joint capsules and other tissues outside the bones below the skin of the human musculoskeletal system, as well as the peripheral nerves and blood vessels. These tissues are affected by various external and internal injury factors, causing tissue destruction and physiological dysfunction.

Soft tissue injuries are generally caused by external pressure. When the pressure reaches a certain intensity, it will induce injury and produce symptoms. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two categories: acute injury and chronic cumulative injury. When soft tissue is injured by blunt or sharp violence, it may cause contusion or (and) laceration of local soft tissue (including skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, which contains nerves, blood vessels and lymphatic tissue). Soft tissue injury of the human body is a common and frequently occurring disease in the human motor system. Soft tissue injuries can cause different conditions and symptoms of varying degrees in the neck, shoulders, back, waist, legs and limbs due to acute injuries and chronic cumulative injuries. In recent decades, it has been found that a large part of many diseases are directly caused by soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments, fascia, fat, joint capsules, nerves, blood vessels, etc., which are very harmful.

Soft tissue

1. Skin

Thicker, less mobile, and more abundant in hair follicles and sebaceous glands.

(ii) Superficial fascia

It is dense and thick, contains more fat, and has many connective tissue fiber bundles connected to the deep fascia. The superficial fascia above the soft tissue contusion area of ​​the neck is particularly tough, and the superficial fascia in the lumbar area contains more fat.

3. Cutaneous nerve

Arises from the posterior rami of the spinal nerves.

1. The nuchal region comes from the posterior rami of the cervical nerves, among which the larger cutaneous branches include the greater occipital nerve and the third occipital nerve. Greater occipital nerve: It is a branch of the posterior rami of the second cervical nerve. It emerges superficially below the superior nuchal line at the origin of the trapezius muscle, ascends with the branches of the occipital artery, and is distributed to the skin of the occipital region. The third occipital nerve is a branch of the posterior rami of the third cervical nerve. It penetrates the trapezius muscle and is distributed to the skin above the neck.

2. The thoracodorsal and lumbar regions come from branches of the posterior rami of the thoracic and lumbar nerves. Each branch emerges superficially on both sides of the spinous process. The upper branches run almost horizontally to the outside, while the lower branches run obliquely outward and downward, distributing to the skin of the thoracic, dorsal and lumbar regions. The branches of the posterior rami of the 12th thoracic nerve can reach the gluteal area. The lateral branches of the posterior rami of the 1st to 3rd lumbar nerves form the superior brachial nerve, which passes through the lumbar region, emerges superficially through the thoracolumbar fascia, crosses the iliac crest and is distributed to the upper part of the buttocks. The nerve is concentrated at the superficial exit above the iliac crest, which is within 2 cm inside and outside the lateral edge of the erector spinae muscle. When the waist is twisted sharply, the nerves in the above-mentioned areas are easily strained, which is one of the common causes of low back and leg pain.

3. The branches from the posterior rami of the sacral and coccygeal nerves in the sacrococcygeal region penetrate the origin of the gluteus maximus muscle at different heights on the line from the posterior superior iliac spine to the tip of the coccyx and emerge superficially to be distributed to the skin of the sacrococcygeal region. The branches of the posterior rami of the 1st to 3rd sacral nerves form the middle gluteal cutaneous nerve.

4. Superficial blood vessels

The superficial arteries in the neck area mainly come from branches of the occipital artery, superficial carotid artery and dorsal scapular artery. The thoracodorsal region receives branches from the posterior intercostal artery, dorsal scapular artery, and dorsal thoracodorsal artery; the lumbar region receives branches from the lumbar artery; and the sacral region receives branches from the superior and inferior gluteal arteries. Each artery has an accompanying vein [1].

Soft tissue contusion

Soft tissue contusion is generally caused by external mechanical stress. When it reaches a certain intensity, it induces injury and produces symptoms. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two categories: acute injury and chronic cumulative injury. When soft tissue is injured by blunt or sharp violence, it may cause contusion or (and) laceration of local soft tissue (including skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, which contains nerves, blood vessels and lymphatic tissue). Soft tissue injury of the human body is a common and frequently occurring disease in the human motor system. Soft tissue injuries can cause different conditions and symptoms of varying degrees in the neck, shoulders, back, waist, legs and limbs due to acute injuries and chronic cumulative injuries. In recent decades, it has been found that a large part of many diseases are directly caused by soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments, fascia, fat, joint capsules, nerves, blood vessels, etc. The harm is very serious.[2]

Causes

Soft tissue contusions are mostly caused by sprains, bruises, falls or impacts, resulting in injuries to the local subcutaneous soft tissue of the body.

symptom

(1) Pain: It is related to the nature and degree of violence, the distribution of nerves in the injured area, and the intensity of the inflammatory response.

(2) Swelling: caused by local soft tissue bleeding or (and) inflammatory reaction exudation.

(3) Functional disorder: causing impairment of limb function or activity.

(4) Wounds or wound surfaces: Depending on the nature and degree of violence of the injury, there may be wounds of varying depths or skin abrasions.

diagnosis

1. History of trauma.

2. Local symptoms, such as pain, swelling, and difficulty in movement.

3. Examination signs: local tenderness and positive pulling pain.

4. Differentiate between X-ray and fracture [3].

Treatment

Soft tissue contusion can usually be treated with analgesia, physical therapy, immobilization and other methods. Within 24 hours of injury, cold compresses can be applied locally to shrink the blood vessels in the skin and hair, reduce tissue edema, and stop bleeding, swelling, and relieve pain. Early application of medicine to treat soft tissue contusion has a very good therapeutic effect and is one of the major characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine trauma treatment. Patients can often experience immediate relief from swelling and pain after applying the medicine. The bandage fixation during the application of the medicine can not only keep the joint in a relaxed position of the injured ligament and temporarily limit limb movement, but also facilitate the repair of damaged ligaments, greatly shortening the treatment time. For a long time, many patients have been treated with this method every day and have received very good results [4].