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.