Recovery from whiplash injury
What Ails You by Jackie Randa
Diagnosis, recovery from whiplash may take some time
Whiplash is a word casually used to describe almost any neck injury that results from an auto accident or from a quick snap of the head, but, in fact, it describes a very specific and troublesome injury.
Whether your car was struck from behind at 2 mph or at 22 mph, your chances of sustaining a whiplash injury have more to do with where your head was at in relation to the headrest than with whether or not your car was damaged. It is, contrary to popular belief, absolutely possible to sustain a life altering whiplash injury when your car was undamaged.
Let’s slow the accident way down and take a look at what happens. As your car is struck from behind, your car seat moves the part of your torso in contact with it (normally that part from the shoulders down) forward. As your torso moves forward under your head, your neck is pulled straight losing the protective curve it normally has. You head is jogged backward until it is stopped by something.
What stops it may be your headrest (hopefully), but, in extreme cases, could be your shoulders or simply your neck’s limited range. Now your head ricochets forward, your chin thrust toward your chest and in not much more time than it takes to blink, your head returns to neutral.
This movement is not physiological movement. What I mean by that is that the movement taking place in your neck is not the naturally smooth C-curve, one vertebra moving on the other below it, that your body was designed to make. Instead, the vertebrae are dragged into a serpentine curve. Although the joints of the spine normally gently open and close by just a few millimeters, this serpentine movement causes one side of the joint to spear into the other. The cartilage in the joint is damaged causing bleeding, swelling and pain in the joint.
If the impact was severe enough, the quick backward snap of your head can actually tear the ligaments which connect the front of each vertebra to the one above and below.
Even more serious is the risk of nerve injury. As the nerves that supply your arms come out of the neck, they drop off little branches that supply the deep muscles of your neck, the muscles that are responsible for holding your head upright and turning it from side to side. In as little as two days following a whiplash injury, some folks show on MRI irreversible damage to these important neck muscles.
For reasons which are unclear, women are far more vulnerable to whiplash injury than men. Of all folks involved in rear-end collisions, about 20 percent of them, mostly women, will sustain a whiplash injury. Of that 20 percent, about 20 percent will sustain a permanent, life-altering nerve injury which has the potential to cause neck pain and dysfunction for the rest of their lives. Let’s make those numbers easier to read: If 100 people are rear-ended, 20 will sustain a whiplash injury. Of that 20, four will sustain a permanent injury.
Symptoms of whiplash may begin immediately or not develop for two to three days as the inflammatory process cranks up trying to repair any damage. You may experience neck pain or discomfort with or without headache. You may have pain between your shoulder blades or down into your arm or hand with or without numbness and tingling. You may experience dizziness or tinnitus (ringing in your ears). You may find yourself stopping to rub your eyes while you are trying to read or concentrate.
You might be irritable and tired, but unable to sleep.
If you have been injured in a car accident, rest and use ice frequently on your neck to control pain and swelling. Remember, simply sitting down does not rest your neck. To unload your neck, you need to lie down with your head and neck supported in a neutral (straight and comfortable) position.
Although your doctor may give you a soft collar to wear, try not to continue using the collar more than two to three days after the accident. By that time you should be able to go without it when you are lying down and begin weaning yourself from the collar when you are in safe and controlled situations.
The collar might continue to be helpful for five to 10 days while you are in a car or out in public simply to limit the risk of reinjury should you be involved in another accident.
As soon as you comfortably can, you should start gently moving your head side to side on the pillow and trying to tuck your chin toward your chest. You should also get out and start walking as normally as possible as soon as possible.
Remember to swing your arms gently when you walk.
Try not to guard your neck (keeping it stiff and turning your whole body instead of just your neck when you want to look to the side).
Even if you are one of the unlucky few who have sustained nerve damage, there are treatments which can help you. If your neck pain is not significantly better within 10 to 14 days, see your doctor for a referral to physical therapy. Early treatment is the best way to assure yourself of the best possible recovery.
The best way to protect yourself from permanent injury is to not get injured in the first place. Adjust your seat and posture so that you can place your head near or on the headrest. If you simply cannot do so comfortably because of changes in your spine or poor seat design, take a look at the cushions available at www.addonheadrest.com.
These simple cushions strap on to your existing seat and significantly reduce your risk of sustaining a whiplash injury.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Jackie Randa is a physical therapist who owns Back on Track in Barstow.
She can be contacted at jranda@aol.com
