Whiplash FAQs

What are the most common symptoms of whiplash injury?

How long does a typical whiplash injury take to heal?

What's the best way to treat a whiplash injury?

What are the risk factors for long-term injury from a rear-end collision?

Can a low speed collision (less than 10 mph) result in injury?

What Are The Most Common Symptoms of Whiplash?

There are some symptoms that are present in nearly every case of whiplash. The following is a list of the most-reported symptoms:

• Neck pain
• Headache
• Shoulder (interscapular) pain
• Back pain
• Parasthesiae (numbness)
• Extremity Pain/weakness
• Difficulties with memory
• Dizziness/light  headedness
• Face and jaw pain
• Auditory symptoms (phonophobia; tinnitus; loss of hearing)
• Vertigo
• Vision problems (blurred vision; photophobia)
• Dysphagia/hoarseness

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How Long Does A Typical Whiplash Injury Take to Heal?

There is no such thing as a typical whiplash injury. Since there is so many different variables (see risk factors, below) involved in a collision that it's not uncommon for two people to be in the same vehicle, and have two different types of injuries.

The healing time of the injuries is also variable. The medical literature consistently shows that a significant percentage of people can experience some kind of long-term symptoms after a crash. The best procedure to limit these long-term symptoms is to receive the proper treatment as early as possible.

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What's The Best Way To Treat A Whiplash Injury?

This is dependant on the severity of the injury and the patient's needs. Very few whiplash injuries require surgical treatment or a hospital stay, but many whiplash patients go the emergency room as their first treatment, especially if the collision was severe.

Unfortunately there exists a plethora of treatment protocols for neck pain. The majority of them are not very effective. Current practice often lags behind available evidence. In a survey about attitudes on treatment of neck pain, traction, TENS, and ultrasound were perceived to be the best methods for the treatment of neck pain. The results of this overview CLEARLY DO NOT SUPPORT THESE APPROACHES nor others commonly used in practice today.

Drugs are often prescribed for whiplash patients, and they can be useful for short-term relief of pain. Long-term use of medications, however, can lead to dependency, and they drugs themselves do not help the injured tissues heal. For more information on your prescription see RxList - The Internet Drug Index.

The best avenue to long-term health of the soft-tissues after injury is mobilization of the affected areas. This is best accomplished with spinal manipulation, massage therapy, acupuncture and rehabilitation.

In addition we have on site the only cervical strengthening machine in the Lower Mainland. This machine specifically targets the weak muscles of the neck and strengthens them in a rehabilitation setting.

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What Are The Risk Factors For Long-Term Injury From A Rear-End Collision?

The following is a list of risk factors for acute injury in a rear-end collision:

1) Gender. Women are more likely to be injured than men.

2) Prior history of neck injury.

3) Improperly positioned head restraint or tall occupant.

PROPER POSITION	IMPROPER POSITION

4) Rear vs. other vector impacts.

5) Use of seat belts/shoulder harness. Some researchers have suggested that seatbelts may increase the risk of injury in rear-end collision. (NOTE: Seat belts save many lives each year, and the potential life-saving ability of seatbelts far outweighs the risk of increased injury during a collision. You should always wear your seatbelt.)

6) Body mass index/head neck index (i.e., decreased risk with increasing mass and neck size).

7) Out-of-position occupant (e.g., leaning forward/slumped).

8) Non-failure of seat back.

9) Having the head turned at impact.

10) Awareness of impending impact. By bracing you are able to protect the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves and thus lessen your chances of long-term injuries.

11) Increasing age (i.e., middle age and beyond).

12) Front vs. rear seat position.

13) Impact by vehicle of greater mass (i.e., 25% greater).

14) Crash speed under 10 mph.

15) Angle of the collision. Any secondary collisions.

16) Road conditions.

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Can A Low Speed Collision (less than 10 mph) Result In Injury?

Yes. Most rear-end test collisions using human occupants are performed at less than 10 mph because of the possibility of injury to the test occupants. In fact we have found that the threshold for injury is in fact less than 5 mph.

Dr. Irving is certified in Low Speed Accident Reconstruction. See the photos from our human crash testing in 2001 at the Spine Research Insitute of San Diego.

For many years in the scientific community, it was believed that injury was impossible in low speed collisions, since the typical motion of the head seen during a higher speed collision did not occur. In the last few years, however, a whole new body of literature has shown that the cervical spine may actually be more at risk from a low speed collision than a higher speed collision. For further information regarding this literature contact Dr. Irving at backdoc@sportsrehab.info.

For a free search of articles relating to your condition see this site, InjuryResources.com, just click on the search and type in the word that relates what information you would like.

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