Worried I injured my brain or spine

[DarkMagician]

Hi everyone, just a few minutes ago I was practicing a dance routine that involves lots of hair whipping and jerky head movements. I was doing fine until a move where you have to throw your head back really hard. I'm not that flexible and my hair wasn't cooperating with what I wanted it to do so I got frustrated and whipped my head back so hard it felt like I got whacked in the back of the neck. I actually had a full blown panic attack convinced I had accidentally broken my neck for a minute there. Now the back of my head really hurts and feels kinda pin pricky and weirdly numb and my neck feels kinda stiff.. it's like 3am here, my sleep schedule is really messed up but I was going to head to bed after I finished that last run through of the dance for the night, and now I'm afraid to sleep because I'm worried I may have given myself a concussion or whiplash or something.. I read that it's a lot easier to accidentally cause yourself a concussion than you would think, and I'm super paranoid now. Anybody on here knowledgeable in that area? I know I did a stupid thing, I'll be more careful from now on. But I'm scared at the moment.

[BlueIris]

Nothing to be afraid of, you won't have harmed yourself.

[DarkMagician]

I'm so tired I'm having trouble staying awake, which can be a sign of a brain injury. But also it's around the time I normally start to get tired anyway. I really want to sleep, but I'm scared I won't wake up if I do. Does the whole shining a light on your pupils and if they dilate you're fine thing actually work, or is that a myth?

[ankietyjoe]

I've said this before, boxers regularly hit each other with forces in excess of 1000lb/sq inch.

You cannot do that dancing.

You've possibly pulled a neck muscle. Try and get some sleep.

[DarkMagician]

I hope you're right because my head (even my forehead) feels weirdly numb and i can hardly keep my eyes open I'm so tired, which is abnormal for me..
I don't know what to do though because the buses don't start running for another hour or two and I can't stay awake but I don't want to go and call an ambulance for this.. but I do kinda want to see someone about this..

[BlueIris]

If you call an ambulance for this, you might be diverting resources away from a person whose life is in genuine danger.

This is a sign that your anxiety is way, way out of hand.

[Carys]

How you doing now Darkmagician ?

I think you should get seen by someone, as you could have compressed a disc on nerves or something, or torn a ligament, or as you say got whiplash. If you are genuinely feeling as if something is very wrong, then call someone close to you and ask them to take you to the docs.That sounds like one evil dance routine !!

[Careful1]

If you are really worried and feel you need to see a doctor then get an appointment when they are open. Please do not call an ambulance for this. Its not a medical emergency and there could be someone who ends up with a life threatening emergency at the very time an ambulance is dispatched to you.

You may have pulled a muscle but I seriously doubt you have significantly injured yourself. Try an ice pack or a heating pad for a bit. You can take some ibuprofen as it's good for inflammation if there are no contradictions. I hope your neck feels better soon 😉

[DarkMagician]

Hey everyone, I slept and I'm still here. I've had some pretty bad pain all over the right side of my upper body today that feels like a nerve or something, and I had a strange migraine aura thing going on this morning that really freaked me out. I definitely think I damaged my neck, but I'm sure it would be worse if I had injured my brain.. I'm way too much of a wimp on the phone to actually call an ambulance if I'm not literally dying, so I didn't take that away from anyone else, no worries! I've managed to avoid worrying myself into an emergency room trip but I'm still a little scared to sleep tonight. I'll make an appointment with my actual doctor tomorrow in case I really hurt myself.

[BlueIris]

That sounds like a really good idea. Auras are harmless but it's always good to get them checked if they're not your norm. I have a theory that neck trouble was behind a lot of mine.