Common Whiplash Symptoms
Whiplash is an injury to the neck muscles from rapid forward and backward motion of the neck caused by a trauma (eg, a car accident). It can cause acute (short-term) neck pain as well as restricted movement in your neck. Chiropractor for whiplash is unique to each whiplash injury and is directed at the primary dysfunctions detected during the chiropractic exam. Chiropractors commonly employ different chiropractic treatments for whiplash, often including:
Manipulation
Muscle relaxation and/or stimulation
Various exercises
Ergonomic and lifestyle changes.
Common Whiplash Symptoms
Some of the most common symptoms of whiplash include:
Neck pain. The pain could range anywhere from mild to severe. It might be located in one spot or general area, or it could also radiate down the shoulder into the arm and/or hand. Typically, neck pain from whiplash is caused by ligament sprains or muscle strains, but it can also be caused by injuries to discs, nerves, joints, and/or bones.
Neck stiffness or reduced range of motion. Reduced neck mobility could be from pain, tightening of a muscle, or a mechanical problem, such as with a joint.
Headache. A neck muscle tightening, or a nerve or joint of the cervical spine becoming irritated could cause headaches.
Neck instability. This whiplash symptom commonly results from stretched or torn soft tissues, such as ligaments. Although, it could also be caused by a fracture.
Shoulder and/or upper back pain. If the neck’s soft tissues, such as muscles or ligaments, are torn or strained during whiplash, then sometimes that pain can also be referred to other soft tissues in the upper back and shoulders.
Radiating tingling, weakness, or numbness. Sometimes whiplash can cause one of the neck’s spinal nerve roots to become compressed or inflamed, which can lead to cervical radiculopathy symptoms of tingling, weakness, and/or numbness radiating down the shoulder, arm, hand, and/or fingers. Typically, cervical radiculopathy is only felt on one side of the body, but in rare cases it can be felt on both sides if more than one nerve root is affected.
Whiplash symptoms might manifest immediately following the acceleration-deceleration accident, or they can take a few hours or days to appear. Oftentimes the exact underlying cause remains unknown for some whiplash symptoms despite today’s best diagnostic techniques. Due to the potentially high number and varied complexity of whiplash symptoms, they are sometimes collectively referred to as whiplash-associated disorders.
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