What is whiplash and how is it treated?

You have been in a car accident but have not been feeling any pain. However, after several weeks or even years, you start having sudden pain in your neck. There is a possibility you may have whiplash, which occurs by a sudden jerk or jolt that you might experience in a car accident.

Whiplash is a nonmedical term used to describe neck pain following an injury to the soft tissues of your neck (specifically ligaments, tendons, and muscles). It is caused by an abnormal motion or force applied to your neck that causes movement beyond the neck's normal range of motion. It is a sudden movement that causes injury to the neck. Your neck is literally whipped back and forth.

Whiplash-type injuries are now commonly referred to by more technical names like hyperextension/hyperflexion injury, myofascial injury, neck sprain or strain, and cervical strain or sprain. This is because the word “whiplash” has come to be associated with fake or exaggerated personal injury claims. So it is good idea to avoid using the word in your personal injury action or insurance claim.

Whiplash happens in rear end motor vehicle accidents, sporting activities, accidental falls, and assault. The term “whiplash” was first used in 1928 to describe a soft tissue neck injury. It has become very common since then.

The most frequent cause of whiplash is a car accident. The speed of the cars involved in the accident or the amount of physical damage to the car may not relate to the intensity of neck injury; speeds as low as 15 miles per hour can produce enough energy to cause whiplash in occupants, whether or not they wear seat belts.

Before the invention of cars, whiplash injuries were called “railroad spine” because they occurred mostly during train collisions. After the invention of cars, the number of whiplash-related injuries has risen sharply due to an increase in rear-end motor vehicle collisions. The first case of severe neck pain arising from a train collision was documented around 1919.

These signs and symptoms may occur immediately or minutes to hours after the initial injury; the sooner after the injury that symptoms develop the greater the chance of serious damage:

• Neck pain
• Neck swelling
• Tenderness along the back of your neck
• Muscle spasms (in the side or back of your neck)
• Difficulty moving your neck around
• Headache
• Pain shooting from your neck into either shoulder or arm

Whiplash is usually treated at home. Home care involves applying ice and taking a pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Other home treatments include:

• Neck massage
• Neck rest
• Bed rest
• Heat therapy
• Muscle relaxers
• Immobilization of the neck with a soft cervical collar
• Early range of motion exercises combined with heat therapy starting 72 hours after the injury to restore flexibility
• Avoidance of excessive neck strain for the next week and then increased activity as tolerated in the following weeks.

If you are suffering from a whiplash injury, your attorney will most likely refer you to a medical specialist for treatment, rather than to a general physician. You may be referred to a back and neck expert, chiropractor, or neurologist.  

The Law Office of Terrence J. Salerno handles personal injury cases in:

Nebraska: Omaha, Blair, Fremont, Bellevue

Iowa: Council Bluffs, Missouri Valley, Glenwood

No personal injury attorney can make you any promises or guarantees of an outcome related to your case, and any mention of compensation on this site is solely presented for informational purposes and should not, by any means or intent, be construed as an automatic entitlement to compensation or damages.