A whiplash injury occurs when your head and neck moves backwards and then forwards in a rapid motion. The most common way for this motion to occur is if you are involved in a rear-end car accident, as the unexpected force sends your body forward while your neck remains in its unrestrained position. This rapid change in direction can cause a number of injuries to the cervical spine area, and typically it’s in your best interest to head right to a specialist’s office if you’re dealing with any whiplash symptoms. Below, we take a closer look at whiplash injuries and why you should turn to an orthopedic specialist if you suffer whiplash to your cervical spine.
Causes And Symptoms Of Whiplash
As we mentioned in the introduction, the most common cause for whiplash injuries is in a rear-end car accident, but it can also happen as a result of contact in sports, an unexpected fall or any incident that involves a rapid change in direction for your neck area. Symptoms of a whiplash injury include:
- Neck pain
- Stiffness
- Tenderness
- Inhibited range of motion
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Pain that radiates down your arm
One tricky issue with whiplash injuries, especially when they are the result of an automobile accident, is that symptoms may not appear right after the accident. During a car accident, your body will produce more adrenaline, which is a hormone that is produced more when a person is stressed or the body is threatened. Being in a car accident is a quick way to ratchet up your stress levels, and adrenaline also works to drown out pain signals as part of the body’s natural fight or flight response. It’s completely normal for patients to not notice or develop the above symptoms for days or even weeks after their accident because their brain is clouded by the stress of the accident.
Diagnosing And Treating Whiplash Injuries
It’s very important to be evaluated by a physician or a neck specialist shortly after you’ve been involved in a car accident or suspect you may have suffered a whiplash injury. For starters, as we mentioned above, you may not notice symptoms right away, so a physical examination and imaging tests can help to detect an issue that may not become symptomatic until later. Also, if your injuries were the result of a car accident, the insurance company is going to want a professional evaluation if you’re going to collect damages or compensation like lost wages. The longer you put off this examination, the more red flags it raises for an insurer. Get seen as soon as possible, both for your health and for financial reasons.
During a consultation with a specialist about your neck injury, your doctor will start by looking at your medical history, asking about your symptoms and the cause of the injury, and they may ask you to perform some movements or gently manipulate the neck area. This will help them get a better idea of what’s going on in your neck, but they’ll confirm their suspicions with the help of imaging tests. An X-ray can help to determine if discs or vertebrae have shifted, but an MRI may be more valuable to allow the doctor to visualize the soft tissues in the area.
After a physical examination and imaging, your specialist will be able to provide you with a diagnosis, but perhaps more importantly, they can now begin to walk you through an individualized treatment plan. While treatment will vary based on the nature of your specific injury, a typical course of treatment for whiplash injuries include a combination of rest, anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, bracing, gentle stretching exercises, hot/cold therapy and muscle relaxants. More severe cases may require numbing injections or even a minimally invasive procedure to help correct a shifted disc or a pinched nerve, but most cases resolve with conservative techniques.
Left untreated, whiplash injuries can lead to long term mobility issues or chronic pain, so it’s imperative that you connect with a doctor and treat the issue head on. For more information, or for issues with newly developed neck pain, reach out to Dr. Jackman and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today.
