Whiplash injury is one of the most common injuries resulting from the classic rear-end collision accident. Even though whiplash injury is very common, it remains poorly understood by many. It occurs when the body reacts to a deceleration or acceleration force by hyper-flexion or hyper-extension of the neck. This sudden jarring movement of the head is sustained backward, forward or even to the side. Due to these sudden movements, the mechanism of injury destabilises the spine and causes severe pain. However, symptoms of whiplash injury are not usually apparent immediately the accidents.
Because these symptoms can take weeks or months to manifest, it is common to assume that one is not injured. As a result, people don’t seek any management following a car accident because they don’t feel hurt. It is important to know that whiplash injuries can manifest themselves in a wide variety of ways, depending on the unique factors involved during the accidents. This includes the direction of impact, passenger / driver seats, speed of the vehicles involved, as well as sex, age and physical condition.
Typical whiplash injury may cause:
- Neck pain
- Headache
- Dizziness / Vertigo
- Upper Back Ache
- Lower Back Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Jaw Pain
. In many occasion, the injury also affects both muscles and ligaments apart from the spinal misalignment. To address and treat this injury, Chiropractic care utilizes manual manipulation of the spine to restore the normal movement and position of the spinal vertebrae. At the same time, with soft tissue and trigger point therapy to the tissues along the spine. Also, exercise rehabilitation is particularly important in managing whiplash injury.
