Whiplash Symptoms

Whiplash is usually caused by motor vehicle accidents, most commonly what is called a rear end collision, where the neck is suddenly and forcibly extended back by the force of the accident. A secondary forward flexion force results in a rebound effect as the neck whips forward. These movements will typically be beyond the normal range of movement of the neck, and thus may cause damage to bones, joints, soft tissues and nerves.

Some sporting injuries or forceful incidents involving the neck may also have the same effect, and create similar symptoms.

Following a whiplash injury, there are a number of symptoms which may result. These symptoms are often called "Whiplash Associated Disorders" or WAD.

It is common, following a whiplash injury, that symptoms may not be noticeable until 48 - 72 hours following the incident. These symptoms may include:

• neck pain
• upper back or shoulder blade pain
• pins and needles or numbness
• headache
• heavy head feeling
• arm pain or weakness
• nausea

As time progresses, depression may arise.

Neck Pain can be very difficult to treat effectively, with a significant proportion of the population going on to suffer Chronic Neck Pain or pain lasting longer than 6 months duration.

After a whiplash injury, examinations such as x-ray, CT (computerized tomography) or MRI may be performed, which will usually come up "normal". This does not necessarily mean that there is no problem, these examinations are sometimes unable to detect certain problems.

Physical examinations for whiplash patients usually include neck mobility, strength, and nerve function, and treatment is usually directed for any deficits found.

Neck Weakness

Many people suffering from a Neck Disorder will often describe the feeling of a "Heavy Head". The head feels as though it is too heavy for the neck to hold up and there will b difficulty in being able to lift their head off the pillow, or of having to use their hands to support their head at times. This "Heavy Head" is usually and indication of weakness of the muscles which support the neck and head. This weakness may arise from nerve damage, muscle damage, poor posture or repetitive activities. The muscles may be inhibited by pain or nerve problems, or fatigue may set in towards the end of an activity. Muscles of the neck become weakened following trauma, such as Whiplash and Sporting Accidents or prolonged poor neck posture over a computer or desk. Ongoing neck pain and discomfort often leads to altered or disturbed movement patterns, reduced physical activity and ultimately further neck weakness.

Headaches

Headaches can be one of the most debilitating symptoms associated with a whiplash injury and other neck problems. "Cervicogenic Headache" means a headache caused by dysfunction in the joints, muscles or nerves that are neck related headaches. The headache may present in different areas in different people, or in the same individual at different times. Pain areas can be in the front of the head - frontal headache, the side of the head - temporal headache or the back of the head - an occipital headache. Symptoms such as aching, throbbing, crushing or blinding are often described and the headache may be present for hours, days or even months at a time. Traumatic events such as a Whiplash injury or sporting injury to the neck may set up a these headaches. Repetitive actions or postures (e.g. sitting at a computer all day) may also aggravate the neck structures over time and these specific causative factors must be resolved to ensure ongoing relief from pain. It is important to identify what aggravates your headaches. Things like working on a computer, driving or heavy lifting may indicate a neck related component to your headache, while eating certain foods or not drinking enough water will point to a different type of headache.

Arm Pain or Weakness

Many people suffering from a neck problem produces symptoms of arm pain or weakness, usually only on the side relating to the dysfunction in the neck. In most cases, the arm pain or weakness is only present when the neck has been aggravated in some way, and will not be there at all time. The type and location of symptoms will vary with different people, however there are 4 basic areas - the shoulder, above the elbow, above the wrist and below the wrist. There may be symptoms in only one or all four areas. The most common cause of neck related arm pain or weakness is an irritation of the nerves which supply the arm. These nerves arise from the neck region, and can easily become irritated by dysfunction in the neck. Arm Pain may originate from sensory nerves supplying the skin of the arm and is felt in very specific areas called "dermatomes" relating to the supply pattern of specific nerves which often affect the fingers and hand. Muscular Weakness in the arm may be related to irritation of the nerves supplying the muscles of the arm that have specific nerve supplies which may be determined by looking at which muscles are weakened. A thorough assessment by your Health Practitioner should determine the spinal level of the trauma.

Pins & Needles or Numbness

Many sufferers of neck disorders will report feeling pins and needles or numbness in the hand or arm of the affected side. It may be intermittent - comes and goes, or may be present for days or weeks on end. The cause of altered sensation in the arm is irritation of the nerves. This irritation may occur at any level and most often involve the roots of the nerves which exit between the spinal bones. The nerve roots are the point where the nerves which supply the different areas of the neck and arm arise from the spinal cord. The neck has 8 nerve roots which exit from the spinal column through small gaps between the vertebrae and if these gaps are reduced in size, perhaps by a problem with the joint, muscle or disc, the nerve roots may be irritated. This will cause changes in sensation along the entire path of the nerve, usually more so at the very end of the nerve at the fingers and hand.

You should always have an examination by a health care provider. For relief of pain, a number of treatments may be used. These include medications (anti-inflammatories or analgesics), electrotherapy (TENS Unit), temporary rest from aggravating activity, massage, ice or heat. Weakness of the neck muscles can be addressed with neck exercises. Other methods of treatment are manipulation or specific adjustments of the joints, traction, stretching of the nerves and muscles, acupuncture and other forms of non-surgical treatments. There are many ways to help yourself to obtain the best results for whiplash recovery. For prevention, you should always have your head restraint in your car adjusted properly. I always recommend the Car Seat Head Support by AddOnHeadRest as this simple device has been proven in crash studies to reduce the severity of whiplash.

Whiplash Symptoms Questionnaire

This whiplash symptoms questionnaire has been designed to provide information on how much pain you experience on a day-to-day basis following your trauma.

Please answer every section below and for each category, please indicate the severity of the symptom using the 1-10 point scale where:

1 = No Symptoms

10 = Extreme Symptoms

After answering ALL of the items click on the 'Score' button. A new window will open with the whiplash symptoms score.

Symptom Intensity Rating Neck Pain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Shoulder Pain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Headaches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dizziness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nausea 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Stiff Neck 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Shoulder Blade Pain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Arm Pain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pins & Needles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Numbness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Neck Weakness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Arm Weakness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2010 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print], the authors evaluated the internal consistency, construct validity, and test-retest reliability of this Symptom Intensity Rating Scale (SIRS) in a clinical sample of people with neck dysfunction. The 12-item scale rates the severity of symptoms of neck, shoulder, shoulder blade and arm pain, neck and arm weakness, headaches dizziness nausea neck stiffness, pins and needles, and numbness. The authors of the study concluded that it is a sufficiently reliable, internally consistent scale that can be used to make valid inferences about symptom severity in ambulatory patients with neck dysfunction. According to the authors, a detectable change would be 19 points, so this can help to determine if your symptoms are improving, staying the same or getting worse.