Neck Injuries From Whiplash

Whiplash can cause an injury to the neck. Some of the most common symptoms of whiplash include shoulder pain, neck stiffness and dizziness. You may also feel abnormal sensations in your neck such as prickling or burning.

Car Accidents

Car accidents are one of the most common causes of whiplash neck injuries. During the accident the sudden jolt of the head and neck backwards and forwards can cause injury to the joints, discs, cervical muscles and ligaments.

Time Frame

Whiplash is not always experienced immediately after the injury occurs. Some people may not experience whiplash until several days after an accident.

Considerations

For many years, unless bones were broken, whiplash was hard to document. Many whiplash victims were perceived as frauds or liars. Today CAT scans and magnetic imaging can correctly document soft tissue injuries in the neck and find the cause of the whiplash.

Treatments

Whiplash treatments include muscle relaxants, heat therapy and physical therapy. According to the website Spine Universe, when whiplash is properly treated, the symptoms should subside in two to four weeks.

Warning

Physicians often apply a brace to the neck of trauma patients. However, the Baylor College of Medicine discovered that neck braces can worsen the injury and may also lead to severe paralysis or even death.

References

• Spine Universe: Whiplash: Neck Trauma and Treatment
• Seattle PI: Baylor Study Doubts Neck Brace Standard