Whiplash and its Aftermath

>Whiplash is not something to take lightly. Too many people are involved in a rear-end collision and laugh off that “pain in the neck.” This is a real mistake. That “pain in the neck” could evolve into a crippling injury somewhere down the line. And at that time, the first thing the insurance company will ask for is records of the diagnosis and treatment. If you don’t have them, you are the one who will pay for treatment, possibly for the rest of your life.

Even if you have records, things may be difficult, so any time you suspect whiplash you should immediately seek professional diagnosis, from a chiropractor or physician.

What is whiplash?

It’s not just from auto accidents. Whiplash can come from any number of activities, such as sports, falls at work, or being physically assaulted. Most often, it results from a sudden jarring motion of the head. It can be caused by a blow, such as a tackle in football or an assault on the street. It can be caused by inertia. When a car stops suddenly and your head does not, whiplash will definitely ensue.

People often overestimate their strength in an auto accident, thinking they can brace themselves. But in a collision of two cars going at fifty miles per hour, the combined speed of impact is a hundred miles an hour. Trying to brace your head, which weighs an average of twelve pounds in an adult, would be impossible for the strongest man on earth. In fact, an impact of even fifteen miles an hour can cause whiplash. So something has to give.

The cause need not even be violent. One cause is repetitive stress injury - simply holding a phone by scrunching up you neck for long periods every day, can cause whiplash.

Shaking children can also cause whiplash. What is a light shaking to a grown adult is actually a traumatic injury to the soft and weak spinal cord of a child. Many people are in prison simply because they did not understand their own strength in comparison to that of a child.

As noted, seek a professional if you suspect whiplash. Seek help if you are involved in any interaction that you suspect has caused it. Also seek help if you have some or all of the following symptoms: persistent neck pain, swelling of the neck, an inability to turn your neck al the way around, persistent headaches, muscle spasms in the side or back of your neck, or a pain that shoots from your neck into your arm or shoulder.