‘Whiplash’ refers to a jerk or jolt suddenly, typically resulting in neck injury. This is commonly caused by road traffic collisions, but may of course be caused by other incidents that create these sudden forceful movements, such as jolts on rollercoasters, falls from bicycles, ice skating accidents etc!
What causes Whiplash?
It’s often thought that if the impact is low speed, that it won’t tend to cause much harm. Another common notion is that if there is no pain initially after the incident, that you have come off ‘unscathed’.
This is far from the truth. Of course there are varying degrees of severity, but unfortunately even ‘minor’ accidents can cause problems, and these may not present as a problem until further down the line.
Common symptoms we see with whiplash associated disorders are aching and tension around the neck and lower back. There may also be cases of tingling or numbness tracking from the neck into the shoulder and/or arm, or possibly from the lower back into the leg/s.
These neck injuries will typically overstretch muscles and ligaments and result in discomfort. More severe cases may result in nerve irritation/damage or even fractures.
We will discuss how our services can help you with whiplash in our next blog – Part 2, how we can help with Whiplash associated disorders..
In conclusion:
If you suspect you, or someone you know might be suffering from whiplash, refer them to us, we may be able to help with our range of supportive therapies, so make sure you ask us about it!
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