Whiplash is an injury that can affect your neck as a result of a sudden change in speed where the head rapidly snaps backwards and forwards.

The injury is mostly found in car accidents following a rear collision between two vehicles.  While whiplash is not life threatening it can still cause significant harm to both the bone structure and the soft tissue in the neck. As a result, the injury can often lead to partial disability from anywhere between a few days to a few years depending on the severity of the incident.

Causes?

While whiplash is most commonly found in car accidents, it can also be caused through sporting injuries such as boxing, rugby or gymnastics.

Reports show that roughly 43% of patients hospitalized with whiplash stem from rear collisions between cars with 32% coming from frontal collisions. The remaining 35% of injuries results from side on vehicle collisions and other types of incidents.

Accidents don’t have to be severe for a person to develop whiplash and are often the result of slow speed collisions of between 6-12 mph.

Symptoms?

The main symptom of whiplash is pain and stiffness in the neck, however, there are a number of other possible warning signs which include arm and back pain, headaches, shoulder pain and dizziness.

For many people the symptoms of whiplash usually take a while to develop and can range from anywhere between two hours after the initial incident to days or even weeks.

In some rare cases it may even take a few months before you feel anything. Due to the delayed symptoms it is important to make a visit to your doctor every time you are in a car accident as they will be better equipped to diagnose any potential damage that may have been caused.

Depending on the accident a doctor may take an x-ray and even an MRI scan to ensure everything is ok. If the pain persists many patients will be provided with a cervical collar to aid in the healing process.

Avoiding?

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to keep you completely safe from whiplash. There are, however, a number of precautions you can take to help minimize any potential damage and consequently whiplash compensation.

Head rests are fitted in all modern cars with the purpose of preventing whiplash damage by stopping the head in its backwards motion. It is often the case that the rests are not properly adjusted to the user’s height when sitting down. To prevent this make sure you head is fully supported when sitting back so that the restraint covers the largest possible surface area.

It is also important to ensure that your seatbelt is properly secured at all times when driving and that there are no twists in the strap.

Finally, try to do muscle exercises that focus on improving neck and shoulder strength. It has been proven that those with stronger neck muscles have a lower chance of getting badly damaged due to the increased durability that comes with stronger muscles.