Site: www.car-accident-claim.com Article Release details: Immediate Date: 10 June 2005Whiplash – how you get it and how to prevent it.
290,607 road users were killed or injured in UK in 2003, 188,342 of those were drivers or passengers in cars (Department for Transport). With amount of cars on our roads multiplying by year it is not surprising that accidents are frequent and that injuries such as whiplash affect so many people. Around 20% of rear end accidents result in a whiplash injury.
The incidence of neck injury to front seat passengers is higher (16 per cent) than for rear seat passengers (10 per cent) in rear end collisions, and front-seat passengers fare worse for neck sprains (19 per cent) than drivers (15 per cent). (What a Pain in Neck – dotpharmacy.co.uk)
A whiplash injury is caused when car driving behind you crashes into your rear end. The impact of two cars colliding throws your body forward so that your neck and shoulders are under your head; your head extends forward and tips down a little. When you slam your foot on break your head and body fly back in opposite direction. This vigorous process happens extremely quickly and often results in an injury.
Many people suffer from neck pain or tenderness after an accident but find that these symptoms disappear relatively quickly. Other people are not as lucky and can go on to develop serious neck pain. There are several symptoms of whiplash to look out for. These are often experienced in days preceding an accident.
oHeadaches oNeck pain oBack pain oShoulder pain oRinging in ears oSleeplessness oPain in arms or hands oAbnormal sensations such as burning or prickling, called paresthesias oDepression
So what is whiplash?
Whiplash is an injury to soft tissue in neck. Areas of neck which can be affected are discs and ligaments, cervical muscles, intervertabral joints and roots of nerves. Most injury to soft tissue cannot be seen with an x-ray so specialised scans may need to be carried out if symptoms persist into long term. Treatment for people with whiplash used to involved immobilisation with a cervical collar, nowadays early mobilisation is encouraged instead. A soft collar may be worn but only for short periods at a time. Patients may also need to take pain medication, muscle relaxants and anti-depressants.