Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy Articles

All You Need to Know About Whiplash: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
by Edward Aube

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries that result from a car accident. Even if a car accident is minor, there is a good chance that the people involved will suffer from whiplash. Although some whiplash injuries are exaggerated, research has proven that whiplash does cause real pain for thousands of people each year.

According to HealthScout.com, whiplash is an informal term for an injury to the cervical vertebrae and adjacent soft tissues. It’s caused by a sudden backward or forward jerking of the head with respect to the vertebral column. During a car accident, the victim’s body often moves forward while the head is thrown back and then forward. This action, which hyper-extends the neck beyond it’s normal range of motion can produce serious neck sprains as well as damage muscle, ligaments and connective tissue.

Symptoms:
Symptoms of whiplash include pain or stiffness in the neck, discomfort in the back of the head, chest muscles, shoulders or upper arms. The person may also feel hoarseness in the throat or have difficulty swallowing. Some people also have muscle spasms, blurred vision, ringing or buzzing in the ears and dizziness.

In some violent whiplash cases, the motion can knock the spinal vertebrae out of alignment, which is extremely painful or squeeze the disks of the cervical spine hard enough to press on a nerve. Damage to blood vessels is also not an uncommon result of a serious whiplash incident.

Treatment:
Since whiplash comes in many different forms it has many different treatments. In the most mild cases, whiplash victims will feel better after taking an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug and resting. However, if the neck pain being experienced is constant and paired with muscle spasms that have spread to the shoulders and upper arms, patients should wear a soft cervical collar with a low section under the chin so the neck is unable to bend backward. This will take weight off the muscles and keep the neck from moving around and causing more pain.

Many doctors recommend that during the two weeks after an accident, a whiplash patient rest as well as move around for a few hours a day, without doing any strenuous activity. Take a walk or do another activity that doesn’t put stress on the neck or shoulders. Sometimes doctors can send the patient home with a set of exercises to do that will increase flexibility in the neck. However if there is a serious injury, working with a physical therapist will be needed.

Luckily, for many, whiplash heals within a few weeks. However in severe cases it may take an extended period of time. Sometimes the patient will feel some neck pain or weakness when tired or after exercise. However, the likelihood of recovery improves with the proper treatment from a doctor.

Prevention:
There are steps you can take to prevent whiplash. Every time you get in your car, wear your seat belt properly. Also adjust your car headrest so the top of it is even with the upper tips of your ears. Make sure the headrest is about 2 inches from your head. Also when playing contact sports such as football make sure to always wear the proper safety gear to properly protect yourself from serious injury.