If you have been involved in a rear-end auto collision or other traumatic accident, it is common for the parties to sustain various injuries. One of the most common of these injuries happens to your neck due to the back and forth movement caused by the incident’s nature. Whiplash may develop immediately or take a few hours or days to manifest, so it is important that you are evaluated following your accident. Neck strain is often not considered a very serious injury, but it can worsen without proper treatment.
Although most people who get whiplash are able to recover with treatment without any further complications, whiplash can lead to more severe, long-lasting physical issues, especially if the injury is not treated by an experienced medical professional. At New York Spine Specialist, our experienced, professional staff is committed to helping patients with neck, and spine-related injuries recover and get back to their pain-free life. Your quality of life is of the utmost importance to us.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash, also known as neck strain, is an injury to the neck stemming from a forceful, back and forth motion of the neck. If you imagine the movement of a whip cracking, that will give you an idea of how whiplash is commonly caused. The sudden force which causes your head to jerk forward and back stretches and tears the muscles and tendons in your neck.
What Causes Whiplash?
Any type of activity that causes your head to move forcefully backward and then forward may cause whiplash as well as injury to the bones in the spine, discs between the bones, ligaments, muscles, nerves, and other neck tissues.
For the majority of patients, whiplash is caused by:
- Auto accidents: Rear-end collisions specifically are the types of accidents that most often cause whiplash. This fact, though, does not eliminate other types of auto collisions from causing whiplash as well.
- Sports: Contact sports, especially, often cause whiplash in the athletes who partake in the activity. Sports such as football, rugby, and hockey may cause whiplash during moments in the game where players collide.
- Physical abuse or assault – When victims of abuse are punched or shaken with great force, whiplash can be a resulting injury. Infants who are diagnosed with the shaken baby syndrome often sustain whiplash in addition to other severe injuries.
There may be other causes of whiplash, such as riding a roller coaster or falling, but these are the most common that we have seen and treated at New York Spine Specialists.
Commons Signs of Whiplash
When you have been involved in some type of accident which moves your head in the motion described above, whiplash can occur immediately or develop within a few hours or days of the injury. Some of the common signs and symptoms of whiplash include:
- Neck pain, stiffness, and tightness
- Muscles may feel hard or knotted
- Worsening of pain when moving your neck
- Side to side
- Backward and forward
- Looking over your shoulder
- Loss of range of motion in your neck
- Headaches which often start at the base of the skull which radiates toward the forehead
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Tenderness
- Tingling or numbness in your arms
- Blurred vision
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Trouble sleeping
- Irritability
- Memory issues
- Depression
Whatever caused your whiplash may also have caused a concussion, so it is integral that you seek the medical attention of a doctor as soon as possible following the incident to check for concussions as well as neck strains.
Some individuals may have worse symptoms or complications following their accident and diagnosis of whiplash. Chronic pain is likely in patients whose first symptoms were intense, started rapidly, and also included:
- Severe neck pain
- Even more limited range of motion
- Pain spreading to your arms
Additionally, if you have had whiplash previously, are older in age, have existing low back or neck pain, or sustained whiplash as a result of a high-speed injury, these factors may contribute to a more severe diagnosis and complications.
Get Treated for Your Whiplash Today
If you have been in an accident in NYC, Westchester, Jersey City, Secaucus, and other locations and sustained serious neck strain (whiplash), contact us at New York Spine Specialist. Our team of specialists provides expert medical care in the treatment and intervention of whiplash and other spine-related conditions to alleviate symptoms. We are committed to helping to get back to your pain-free life.
At New York Spine Specialist, our team is composed of physicians, physician assistants, and surgeons who all work together to develop customized treatment plans for each of our patients and their specific needs. We want to improve the quality of your life, decrease your pain, and enhance your body’s function for daily life activities. Contact us today at (516) 355-0111 or request an appointment.