Vehicle Accident Injuries: Whiplash

This article will discuss what whiplash is, how it happens and symptoms, factors and some whiplash injuries.

Whiplash is a common term used in relation to car accidents. However, few know the severity and scope of whiplash and whiplash related injuries. This article will discuss symptoms, factors and some whiplash injuries.

The term whiplash was coined in 1928. It is an injury to the neck caused by a severe jerk of the head and neck in an unrestrained way which rapidly moves them backward and forward. It is caused by the acceleration and deceleration force associated with a motor vehicle accident. Whiplash injuries can range from minor to severe depending on the force experienced during the accident. It describes damage to bone structure and soft tissue and in severe cases it can cause whiplash disorder which is a chronic condition. While whiplash is not life threatening but it can lead to long periods of disability.

Whiplash symptoms can be felt either immediately after an accident, after a few hours, days, weeks or even months. There are a wide range of symptoms related to whiplash injuries, some examples of such symptoms are:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Neck pain
• Upper back and shoulder pain
• Brain injuries

All whiplash related injuries depend on the following factors:

• The speed at which the vehicle(s) were travelling at, at the point of impact
• Age of the injured person
• Sex of the injured person
• Physical condition of the injured person

Some whiplash injuries are:

• Neck pain – ninety percent of all patients who suffer from whiplash complain about neck pain. In most cases the pain is felt across the shoulders up to the head and between the shoulder blades. This pain is caused by disc injury and/or damage to muscles and ligaments in the neck and upper back. Disc injury can include disc herniation or bulging.
  
  
• Headaches – eighty percent of all patients who suffer from whiplash related injuries complain about headaches. In some case the headaches are caused by the muscles, ligaments and facet joints of the cervical spine which send pain signals to the head thus causing headaches.
  
  
• TMJ – this is temporomandibular joint syndrome, which is pain in the jaw joint. The TMJ connects the lower jaw to the skull. When related to whiplash it is a serious but rare disorder. It starts with pain, clicking, popping sounds when you move your jaw. When the condition worsens, it can cause pain in the face, headaches, ear pain and difficulty eating.
  
  
• Dizziness – this is mostly caused by injury to the facet joints of the cervical spine. In other cases, dizziness is caused by injury to the brain or brain stem. Whichever the case may be, dizziness is short term and can get better and stop over time with treatment.

Low back pain – this is caused by the lower part of the back being compressed or squashed during a whiplash injury in an accident. This results in low back pain.

If you have sustained related injuries as a result of a car accident and want to pursue a claim for personal injury, choose an Anchorage attorney from a respected law firm to give you advice and to represent you.

If you are looking for attorney, Anchorage, the author recommends Crowson Law Group.