Whiplash Injuries

Road accidents involving cars are the most common road traffic accident and whiplash is the most common injury, so what causes whiplash injuries? Being struck from behind in a car is the classic cause of a whiplash injury. About one in five people involved in such a collision ends up with problems with their neck and/or surrounding area.

This sudden impact pushes your car forwards. After a brief delay, your body follows. Your shoulders move forwards until they're under your head. When you brake hard, the car stops suddenly, throwing your head and neck back until they hit the headrest.

This sudden forwards and backwards movement stretches and tears the soft tissues of the neck - the tendons, ligaments and muscles - and may damage the nerves and other structures in the area. This soft tissue damage is known as a whiplash injury, or cervical sprain or hyperextension injury.

Most people recover in a matter of a few weeks, but for a few it can be the start of years of trouble.

The standard treatment used to be to encase the neck in a supportive collar to prevent movement.

These days it's thought better to use a soft collar for a short period and to gently encourage movement of the neck after 24 hours.

Whiplash syndrome

Like any severe soft tissue damage, the pain and other symptoms can take several weeks to fully settle. However a few people have ongoing problems including headaches, stiffness, tingling and other sensations in the arms or legs, tiredness, poor sleep and low mood.

This is referred to as Whiplash syndrome and is similar in nature to other conditions where pain and other symptoms develop as a result of damage to the nerves (called neuropathic pain). Treatment from a pain specialist may be needed.