A whiplash injury occurs when you are in an accident. Whiplash occurs when your head is forced to move backward and forward in a car accident. It can cause considerable damage to the cervical spine and other regions of the spinal cord.
Someone who has been in a whiplash accident is likely to have additional whiplash-related diseases.
Spine specialists for whiplash might not have the answers to all your questions because very little is known about it. More research is still going on to ensure that, shortly, all the patients will have all the knowledge they need about neck pain caused by whiplash.
Any spinal specialist or spine surgeon can answer the questions you have about whiplash. Talk to your doctors if you need a spine surgeon or other specialist.
Whiplash is not always caused by a car accident. Other causes of whiplash accidents must be considered. This helps your physicians make a valid diagnosis. Some other causes of whiplash accidents include:
- Contact sports like rugby, hockey, and football.
- Roller coaster rides.
What are some of the whiplash symptoms?
Whiplash causes neck injury and pain, although the symptoms of whiplash differ from patient to patient, depending on the damaging impact. Whiplash symptoms include:
- Severe headache.
- Dizziness.
- Chronic pain along your cervical spine.
- Sleep disturbances.
- Arm pain.
- Numbness and weakness.
- Your range of motion decreases. Your normal range reduces because of damage to the cervical spine.
- Fatigue.
- Shoulder pain.
- Persistent neck pain.
- Visual disturbances.
- Psychological distress.
- Memory problems.
If you have any of the following symptoms and aren’t sure what’s wrong, see a doctor. You can easily mistake whiplash.
In a whiplash injury, your neck suffers the most, but you cannot be guaranteed that your spinal cord or other parts of your body are safe. This is why it is important to visit a spine specialist for whiplash. In severe cases, the patient might have flashbacks of the auto accident.
What are some of the Whiplash Associated Disorders?
A whiplash-associated disorder is an injury patient sustains as a result of forceful backward then forward movement after an accident. This forceful movement damages the soft tissues in your muscles, nerve roots, nerve exits, and neck area. The bony plate in your spinal cord is also affected. Whiplash disorders can cause you severe pain.
The pain relief medications you take cannot always guarantee y a full recovery. Whiplash injuries can cause inflammation and strain to your soft tissues, such as :
- Ligaments.
- Joints.
- Intervertebral disc.
- Muscles.
- A bony plate.
- Thoracic spine ribs.
- Shoulder joint.
- In your nervous system, it damages your nerve roots exit, spinal canal, brain, nerve pathway, and a few other parts of your spinal cord.
A few examples of whiplash disorders you should know include:
Pathology: Patients with this whiplash disorder have minor soft tissue injuries. If you have this whiplash disorder, there is very little evidence of fracture.
Etiology: Most doctors do not have a complete understanding of this disorder. The Patients who have reported this
Epidemiology: Contact sports and roller coaster falls are the most common causes of this whiplash disorder. Research in the United Kingdom has shown that after a compulsory law of wearing a seat belt was instituted. The patients who reported this disorder were wearing seat belts.
This strict law led to an increased number of these whiplash disorders. The patients diagnosed with this whiplash disorder have reported three months of whiplash symptoms. These symptoms may also recur after another three years.
How is Whiplash diagnosed?
If your treating physician makes a whiplash diagnosis early, he should treat the whiplash treatment as soon as possible. The patient informs the doctor of the symptoms they are experiencing and does some imaging tests to make a valid diagnosis.
The doctor comes up with a whiplash diagnosis after ruling out other conditions that require treatment as soon as possible. The test used by your physician to make a whiplash diagnosis include:
- X-rays.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests (MRI)
- Computerized Tomography (CT scans)
An X-ray may not help your doctor to come up with the right diagnosis. On these occasions, your doctor with also performs a CT scan.
Treatment Options for Neck pain and other whiplash related disorders
Whiplash treatment options can be immediately after a whiplash injury or be long-term treatment depending on your injury. The treatment options for whiplash include:
Immobilization: Whiplash affects both your spine and spinal cord. If you are involved in an accident, a protective form is wrapped around your neck area. After a whiplash accident, the health provider puts cervical foam collars around the necks of the victims.
Foam collars hold your neck in place. Your doctor will recommend a neck brace for a few days following the injury. They help support your head since your neck muscles are too injured to do so.
Pain medications: Your physician prescribes painkillers to decrease pain. Doctors take extra caution when prescribing these medicines to the patient since long-term usage can lead to addiction.
Anti-inflammatory drugs: The doctors prescribe this medication to reduce swelling in damaged tissues. Swelling can prevent your nerves from sending messages to your brain.
Muscle relaxers: A sprained muscle can cause you intense pain. The doctor prescribes these drugs to help your muscles relax and take less time to heal.
Physical therapy: Physical therapy will ease your pain from a whiplash car accident. Your therapist uses guided exercises to strengthen your injured muscles.
Spine surgery: If your ligaments are torn, or your vertebrae are fractured, a spine surgeon will recommend spine surgery. When your intervertebral disc gets damaged in an accident, a spine surgeon performs an artificial disc replacement surgery which restores neck movement.
If the bony plate in your spinal cord gets fractured in a car accident, spinal fusion surgery will correct the problem.
Are you looking for spine specialists for whiplash in New York?
New York Spine Specialist got you covered. Our spine center has the best-trained spine specialists to ensure you get the specialized care you deserve. Our team treats neck and back injuries from a car accident whiplash. If you experience any whiplash symptoms, please get in touch with our spine center right away. Or doctors accept no-fault insurance, PIP (personal injury protection), and workers’ compensation.
Visit our New York spine center for more information about our services. You can call us at 516-355-0111 to schedule an appointment with us today.
