Whiplash occurs when a person’s head moves backwards and then forwards quickly and oftentimes with great force. This forceful action puts a lot of strain on the neck and shoulder area, and it’s quite common during rear-end automobile collisions, but it can also occur during athletics or as a result of a fall.
You may not suffer a fracture as a result of your whiplash injury, but that doesn’t mean you should just continue going about your day and hope that the tissue damage eventually heals. Left untreated, whiplash can cause a number of long-term problems for your neck and spine. Below, we take a closer look at some of the potential problems caused by untreated whiplash.
Why You Should Treat Your Whiplash Injury
If you decide not to connect with a spine specialist or pursue helpful active treatments like physical therapy after suffering a whiplash injury, you may end up paying for it later. Here are some of the common problems associated with unaddressed whiplash:
- Decreased Range Of Motion – Whiplash typically involves damage to the soft tissues and muscles in the neck region, which can make it hard or painful for you to move your neck in a normal motion. You can help these tissues heal and restore normal motion by doing some stretching and physical therapy exercises, but if you ignore these areas, they may stay weak or damaged for an extended period, meaning you may never regain normal motion in your neck. Work to restore normal range of motion by actively treating tissue damage caused by whiplash.
- Chronic Pain – Another symptom associated with untreated whiplash is the onset of chronic pain. For some this pain presents as sharp discomfort when moving their neck, while for others it develops as a dull pain that’s constantly there. Help put an end to your discomfort by treating the tissue damage while it’s in its infancy.
- Headaches – Untreated whiplash can affect how tension is dispersed in the muscles in your head and neck area. If muscle stress and tension overburdens some areas of your neck, it can lead to the onset of tension headaches, which are no fun. Headaches can be common in the short-term after a car accident, but work to ensure they aren’t a long-term problem by helping to alleviate tension buildup in the area.
- Disc Problems – Forceful whiplash trauma can actually shift a spinal disc out of place, which can affect nearby spinal nerves. You need to help shift this disc back into its original position before it causes nerve issues or problems for the other discs along your spinal column.
- Vertigo – Finally, whiplash can throw off your inner ear equilibrium, which can lead to the onset of vertigo, dizziness and other balance issues. Oftentimes physical therapy or manual therapy can help restore balance to your inner ear and treat your symptoms of vertigo.
A number of health problems can develop or linger if you just lay in bed and hope the problem fixes itself, so connect with a doctor if you’ve been involved in a car accident or believe you may be dealing with a whiplash injury. Dr. Jackman has helped a lot of patients put their whiplash injuries in the past, and he’d be more than happy to do the same for you. For more information, contact Dr. Jackman’s office today at (651) 430-3800.
