Whiplash injury is an injury to the muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues of the neck. It is caused by a sudden and vigorous movement of the head, sideways, backward, or forwards. Whiplash injury is medically known as cervical acceleration-deceleration (CAD) syndrome.
Whiplash injury results when the soft tissues (the muscles and ligaments) of your neck extend beyond their typical range of motion, causing them to be overstretched or sprained.
What causes whiplash injury?
Most often whiplash injury is caused by being rear-ended in a car. Other potential whiplash injury causes, while comparatively rare, can include, assault blows to the head rollercoaster football tackle falls while skiing or during equestrian events other high-impact activities where extreme acceleration-deceleration forces might be applied to the cervical spine.
Mechanism of Whiplash injury
In the first stage, flexural deformation of the neck occurs with a loss of cervical lordosis.
In the second stage, the cervical spine assumes an S-shaped curve as the lower vertebrae begin to extend and gradually cause the upper vertebrae to extend.
In the final stage, the entire neck is extended due to the extension moments at both ends.
Signs and symptoms
Neck pain
Neck stiffness
Shoulder pain
Low back pain
Dizziness
Pain in your arm or hand
Numbness in your arm or hand
Ringing in your ears
Blurred vision
Concentration or memory problems
Irritability
Sleeplessness
Tiredness
Diagnosing Whiplash injury
When you first go to see your physical therapist, they will assess you following three steps.
First, they will ask you a question about your injury, such as how it occurred, where you feel pain, and whether the pain is dull, shooting, or sharp.
Then they will do a physical examination. They will observe your posture, range of motion, and palpate for areas of tenderness.
Then they may order some tests (X-Ray, MRI, or CT scan), to rule out other types of injury or degenerative disease such as arthritis.
Treatment
Treatment to whiplash injury has 2 components; Self-care and medical care.
Self-care includes what you can do after an injury.
1️. Ice
Ice your neck to reduce pain and swelling as soon as you can after the injury. Wrap the ice in a thin towel or cloth to prevent injury to the skin.
2️. Rest.
While it is good to stay active if possible, it also makes sense to make things easier the first few days. If a certain motion or activity exacerbates the neck pain, then avoid or limit that movement until the neck has more time to heal.
3️. Correct posture.
Correct posture is very important after a whiplash injury. Keep your back straight when you are sitting, standing, or walking to help prevent stiffness and pain from developing. If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, take regular breaks to stand up and move your body so that your neck and back do not become stiff.
4️. Avoid strenuous activities.
Avoid heavy lifting, punching or pulling, or contact sports like rugby and boxing, until your symptoms improve or your health care professionals approve.
Physiotherapy treatments will help you in many ways during the treatment period. Physiotherapy and medications fall under medical care.
Complications of whiplash
In serious whiplash injuries
There may damage to the nerves or fracture or dislocation of the neck. While most people who have a whiplash injury recover within a few weeks to a few months, some have persistent pain for several months or longer.
The following risk factors have been linked to a worse outcome
Having/had whiplash before
Older age
Prevention
There's not much you can do to prevent whiplash caused by an accident, of course. But there are some things you can do as prevention measures.
When driving,
Ensure your car headrest is fitted correctly for you.
To prevent whiplash, the head and torso have to move together, so that the head doesn’t snap excessively on its own. Head restraints are designed to limit displacement of the head in relation to the torso. So make sure it is properly positioned when seated and driving the vehicle. The top of head restraint needs to be at the level of the top of your ears and better if it reaches the top of your head. Make sure its placement is not too high, low, or distant from your head.
Wear a seat belt
Make sure your seat is upright and you sit facing forwards. Your seat belt needs to be worn across your chest, not under your arms.
Use safe driving practices.
Adjust the steering wheel so it’s level with your chest, not your face.
During sports
Wear safety equipment
Dharani Gunawardena
References
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/whiplash
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/whiplash-injury
https://www.healthline.com/health/whiplash
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