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Whiplash, meaning rapid back and forth movement, is a type of injury caused by sudden trauma. It is an injury to the muscles, spinal discs, tendons, ligaments, and nerves of the neck.1 Whiplash is also known as neck strain.
Whiplash is commonly associated with car accidents, but it can also be caused by sports, roller coasters, and extreme recreational activities such as water skiing.2 What causes whiplash during any of the activities is a sudden force that causes the neck to lose control of its movements. This causes the head to whip forward and backward really quickly. The suddenness of this movement prevents the muscles from being able to react to prevent over stretch or to stiffen enough to prevent the neck from moving so quickly. This in turns leads to injury of multiple structures in and around the neck and head.
Whiplash symptoms include:
How Whiplash Is Diagnosed
If you come in for an appointment with one of our physical therapists to be treated for any of the symptoms above, we will conduct an evaluation. We will ask questions about your personal history, whether or not you were involved in an accident, if you were injured recently, your stress level, your profession and hobbies, etc. If we suspect from your answers that you might have whiplash, we will assess your symptoms and the state of your neck. If your history and symptoms match up, we will give you a whiplash diagnosis and start treatment.
How to Treat Whiplash
The immediate treatment for whiplash is gentle neck movement within a pain free range. Using a neck collar or resting is no longer recommended as the best treatment for this diagnosis. If you are too scared or have too much pain when you move then make sure to keep doing daily activities and walking as much as possible. Our physical therapists will teach you how to reintroduce neck movement in a safe and approachable way so as not to exacerbate the injury. We will also educate you on how pain works, how the neck functions, how to prevent further injury, and how to handle the persistent pain that might follow after the whiplash has resolved. After some time, we will work to strengthen your neck and its surrounding muscles.
If you’re involved in a car or sports accident and believe you have whiplash, schedule an appointment to see one of our doctors of physical therapy today. Our team can assess if it is safe to do movement and, if not, they will refer you to your primary care doctor for further testing. PTs are skilled at being able to determine if something dangerous is happening. If you are in doubt of whether you have something more serious occurring then we recommend you see your primary doctor or go to the emergency room first. Once something more serious is ruled out, then our team can continue to help you return to your prior functional levels.
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