Better education on symptoms of whiplash has become an arch need, with the skyrocketing increase in the number of whiplash injuries. As a result of a sudden backward movement and then forward movement of the neck, when you car is rear ended, defines a whiplash injury. Various symptoms start to show from 6 to 12 hours after the accident has happened. Worse symptoms might take days and sometimes even years to show up. Most often we tend to brush off minor symptoms because, certain soft tissue injuries don't show in X-rays or radiography. Radio imaging shows a better insight of the injury.
Most common symptoms of whiplash are centered in and on the neck area. When no bones are broken and the head doesn't strike the windshield, there is a 62% to 98% chance of ending up in the following symptoms: -
1. Neck pain/stiffness.
2. Swelling around the neck.
3. Tenderness or numbness along the back of the neck.
4. Loss of movement.
With 40% chance the second most common symptom is lower back pain, with tenderness or stiffness. This might be a result of various degrees of injury done to the disc, facet joints, lower back or sacroiliac joints. Muscle tears are often felt as a burning, prickling or immingling sensation. More severe disc damages are felt as sharp pain following certain movements. When talking about the shoulder pain, it is symptomatic of a radiating pain starting from the back of the neck to the center of the shoulder blades.
66% to 70% of the victims experience headache, which might be felt on one or both side, sometime on a particular spot. It occurs on and off or persists for weeks after the accident. Dizziness is one other symptom that occurs in 50% of the people, lasting for a week. With no known cause, blurred vision seems to be seen in 10% of those who had a whiplash injury, but it usually clears out quickly.
Symptoms of whiplash are not exclusive to the neck but affect a whole range of joints, muscles, soft tissues and ligaments. Other possible symptoms are: -
1. Nervousness/irritability,
2. Difficulty in swallowing,
3. Sleep disturbance,
4. Fatigue,
5. Tinnitus-ringing in the ears,
6. Anger/stress,
7. Drug dependency,
8. Social isolation,
9. Nausea,
10. Vertigo.
In case of poor or untreated injuries, symptoms lead to somatic, cognitive and psychological conditions, characteristic of memory loss, concentration impairment and irritability.
Symptoms of whiplash may resemble other problems, so always consult a doctor to be on a safer side. Fortunately with time, most of the symptoms of whiplash and whiplash related disease tend to disappear. A sound education on whiplash symptoms, diagnosis and treatment is all that you need for a complete recovery.
To recover from any sort of whiplash injury you should know the extent of your injury and should be aware of all the symptoms of whiplash. To recover faster it is a must that you get back to your normal schedule at the earliest. Make sure that you file your compensation claim and always consult a no win no fee solicitor to brighten your chances for a victory.
