Whiplesh Injury
An injury caused to the neck due to sudden, persistent moving forward and moving backward of the neck is known as whiplash injury.
The most common cause of whiplash injury is car accidents, it can also occur due to sports injuries, trauma, or falls. This injury can get better in a few weeks with proper treatment. In some cases, the neck pain and discomfort lasts for a long time.
Causes of pain in neck
- Sudden forceful backward and forward movements of the neck. This joint movement can damage the neck bones, muscles, ligaments, and other structures also.
- Road/car accidents
- Physical assault or abuse
- Sports like football, wrestling, and any other contact sports
- Cycling accidents
Symptoms
- Pain in your neck
- Stiffness in your neck
- The pain becomes worse with neck movements
- Decreased range of motion
- Headache
- Pain in the shoulder, arms, and upper back along with tenderness
- Numbness or tingling sensation in the arms
- Dizziness
- Memory problems, Vision problems, irritability, etc.
Diagnosis
- Physical examination of your neck, the doctor will also ask for a history of injury or trauma
- X-ray evaluates the bony injury and helps in examining the intervertebral (between any two vertebrae) space
- MRI and CT scan evaluate the soft tissue injury and also provides the severity of the injury
Treatment
- Conservative
- Take rest
- Ice and heat therapy
- Medications to manage the pain and inflammation
- Muscle relaxant medicines to reduce the muscle stiffness and spasm
- Physical therapy to maintain the normal neck joint movements, also helps in muscle strengthening that provide stability to the neck and may help in preventing further injury. Physiotherapy will also help in posture correction.
- Cervical (neck) Collar or foam/ soft cervical collars if required and suggested by your doctor to support the neck.
