Health Articles

Whiplash with Accompanying Neck and Back Pain

What really is Whiplash with Accompanying Neck and Back Pain

Directly after an auto accident, the effects of soft tissue injury, with the discomfort of inflammation, and sharp to achy neck and back pain, starts quite gradually.  Every day, after an auto accident, you will find new aches and pains. Fresh bruises and welts can appear. It may just be that you are focused on what hurts the most and do not notice all of your other injuries. This is one reason why it is wise to get examined by your chiropractor. Your chiropractor is trained to look for all the injuries you could have from the specifics of your auto accident.

You can hurt even if no part of your body hit anything. That is often what happens with a whiplash type injury. The front to back snapping of your head in a rear end collision damages your neck and often causes more damage to your brain as it bangs around inside you scull. No bruises on the outside, except, perhaps from your seatbelt, but you are seriously injured with soft tissue damage you will deal with for a while, with chiropractic care and without chiropractic care, you may deal with things the rest of your life, as many people have learned the hard way.

Auto Accident Injuries can cause Whiplash with Neck and Back Pain

As the inflammation changes and increases, it puts internal pressure in your joints, which inflammation is responsible for them getting stiff.  Usually, inflammation after a whiplash accident, peaks seventy two hours after an auto accident.  This clarifies why your neck hurts the most some hours after your auto accident, instead of directly after an auto accident. You may think you are fine the day of your accident, walking around dazed and full of adrenaline, but your chiropractor is not fooled, when you tell him you are fine out of habit!

It is essential to know that neck and back pain can occur from even low velocity accidents.  The reason is that the kinetic force of an auto is quite high, even at five miles per hour, due to the great mass of the auto. This energy is transferred to the occupants of the auto and is actually more violent if the autos do not dent, which is frequently the case in low impact accidents. Consequently, even in a low-impact auto accident can be plenty to cause neck and back pain. It is wise to get checked immediately to make sure problems do not change later on.

Auto Accident Injuries can cause Neck and Back Pain and Whiplash Headaches

Headaches with neck and back pain injury is common. A whiplash headache can frequently outweigh your neck pain in terms of relentlessness, mostly in the early weeks after injury. Nearly two thirds of whiplash injury sufferers have headaches. About half of those who change headaches after neck and back pain injuries feel the pain in the back of their head, another third get headaches all over their heads and a small number feel headaches in their foreheads or behind their eyes.