Cervical Sprain, including well defined muscle strains

21-year-old female involved in a motor vehicle collision. The initial noncontrast cervical spine CT revealed no fracture or dislocation. On subsequent MRI, ordered for persistent pain and decreased mobility, there is significant soft tissue edema in the subcutaneous and soft tissues of the left paraspinal region. This includes edema in the interspinous ligamentous regions from the C4-C5 to C6-C7 disc levels. In addition, there is edema within the splenius capitus, semispinalis capitus, and splenius cervicis muscle bellies. The findings are compatible with ligamentous injury and low-grade strains of the left extensor musculature of the cervical spine region. Low grade muscle strain is used to describe intact muscle architecture on T1-weighted images with increased signal intensity on T2/STIR-weighted images.