Whiplash Injury: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

When we want to agree with someone without talking, we nod our heads. It’s something we do every single day without thinking. You won’t get whiplash from nodding your head too much, but it does stem from the same basic motion. It develops after something violent happens, like a car accident which causes your head to go forward and backward very suddenly. Some people can feel the effects of whiplash for years after the initial injury.

With that said, here are some important things you need to know about whiplash symptoms and causes, as well as the treatment options.

What whiplash feels like

Whiplash isn’t something that always appears right after the injury occurs. After a car accident, the adrenaline running through your body may protect you from any pain, at least in the short term. In the long term, though, you’re going to feel it eventually. Many people refuse medical treatment at the scene of a car accident only to wake up a day or two later with symptoms like a stiff, sore neck and a headache.

Whiplash can damage everything from your intervertebral joints to your discs and nerve roots. We don’t realize just how much we depend on our neck for support until it gets hurt and we’re in pain around the clock. Since the neck and mouth are so close to one another, people with whiplash may end up in a dental office looking for orofacial pain relief. Since most of us can’t sleep standing up, whiplash can make getting a decent night of sleep much tougher than usual. That in turn can lead to crankiness and irritability. And even more unfortunately, not getting enough sleep can even put you at risk for another accident.

Common causes

It’s true that you’re most likely to hear about whiplash injuries in the context of a car accident. Whiplash and other injuries often lead people to seek out injury lawyers in Alabama, since a personal injury suit is sometimes the best way to get compensation for medical bills and other costs associated with the accident. The presumed connection is so strong that saying the word “whiplash” in a word association game will probably get you a response like “car wreck.”

There are other ways to get whiplash, although they’re not discussed as much. Think about what happens when someone gets punched in the face. If the punch has enough force behind it, then the victim’s head is going to whip back suddenly. That could mean they end up with a black eye, a broken nose, and whiplash to boot. Violent collisions that occur in sports like football are also capable of causing whiplash.

Treating whiplash

There’s no single guaranteed way of curing whiplash. It’s like many other ailments, in that doctors and patients often have to try multiple things before stumbling upon a combination that works. In some cases, an ice pack and over-the-counter pain relievers are enough to get the job done. In past years, patients would often be fitted with cervical collars designed to limit movement, but that option isn’t as popular anymore.

Physical therapy and massages are helpful for some patients who suffer from more serious cases of whiplash. Pain-relieving injections can be used with appropriate medical supervision, and patients who live in states where CBD oil is legal can look into that as well. CBD oil is short for cannabidiol, but it is not designed to get you high. It’s there to relieve pain. Pain relief can make you giddy, but that’s not the same feeling you get from smoking a joint. There are a lot of options, so make sure to do your research if you’re interested in things like filtration for hemp and CBD oil extraction. CBD won’t work for every situation, but it can be effective for many people.