Auto Whiplash Injury Nothing to Fool With

Any sudden acceleration or deceleration of the human body that snaps the head backward, forward, or to the side can seriously injure the neck’s tissues. Technically, such injuries are termed hyperextension and hyper flexion injuries. Popularly they are called whiplash.

Whiplash Easy to Come By

The cause may be almost any misdirected action involving momentum or force such as a fall on the stairs, a sports mishap, a fall on ice…any accident which causes a snapping movement of the head and neck. An automobile rear-end collision is the most frequent whiplash event. About 4 million rear-end collisions occur each year, and each of them- even a mild one- carries the potential for whiplash neck injury.

Neck Has Its Limits

Not that the human neck is weak and susceptible to injury from any force that comes its way. The strength and flexibility of the cervical spine (neck area) make it an architectural marvel. But the neck does have a limit to its range of motion. When tat limit is exceeded through a sudden, forceful movement, whiplash injury to some degree is almost assured.

How Whiplash Happens in Auto Accidents

In an auto, because the seated person’s back is in direct contact with the auto’s seat back, a rear-end collision instantly propels the body forward with great force. This causes the head and neck to snap backward violently. An immediate reflex contraction of the neck muscles then snaps the head forward. Hence, the expression whiplash. Those lashing actions put great stress on the soft tissues of the neck (muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves) as well as the neck bones (vertebrae).

Typical Whiplash Injuries

• Vertebral subluxations causing pinched nerves.
• Spinal disc fibers torn, discs separated.
• Spinal cord injured.
• Stretching, tearing of neck muscle fibers, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves.
• Blood vessels bruised, blood supply altered.
• Vertebrae injured.
• Vertebrae separated.
• Neck’s normal curve altered.

Symptoms May Lag

Some symptoms may show immediately or within a few hours following a whiplash injury. But damaged, injured tissues often degenerate slowly, so sometimes symptoms don’t develop for several days. Sometimes several weeks go by. And occasionally, months elapse before symptoms present themselves.

Typical Whiplash Symptoms

• Headache
• Restricted neck movement
• Head, neck, shoulder, arm pain
• Pain between shoulders
• Dizziness
• Fainting or “weak feeling” spells
• Head, neck, shoulders, arms feel heavy and tired
• Sense of balance altered
• Ringing in ears
• Hearing diminished
• Frequent nausea
• Low back pain
• Numb, cold, tingling hands, feet, arms, legs
• Heartbeat rapid, irregular, fluttery, pronounced
• Frequent anxiety, irritability, memory laps

Chiropractic Exam

A whiplash victim should have a thorough chiropractic examination as soon as possible after the accident to determine the extent of injury before it gets worse.