The 6 Most Common Whiplash Symptoms

Copyright (c) 2011 Nicholas Jervis

Whilst whiplash is commonly associated with road accidents, particularly rear end shunts in cars, you can actually experience whiplash symptoms from a variety of impacts. You might be physically pushed by someone, jolting your neck forwards and backwards quickly, resulting in a whiplash injury. You can be stationary in a car when hit from behind, you might be have a sporting impact, particularly in contact sports such as rugby or American Football whereby you collide with another player and your head "whips" backwards and forwards causing the whiplash injury.

So if you have been in any incident where you have experienced this contact, here are the things that you can expect if you have suffered a whiplash injury.

1. Headaches.

Headaches can be a common sign that you have experienced a whiplash injury. Your head has sufferd a severe jolt and be thrown forwards and backwards. Quite literally the contents of your head have been shaken about which is not how they like to be treated. The headaches can occur in the front or the back of the head and will vary in strength depending on the severity of the impact.

2. Dizzines.

One of the stranger feelings that is associated with whiplash symptoms is dizziness or giddiness. You can feel distanced from what is going on around you and completely "out of sorts" (an expression not so widely used these days but which sums up this feeling very well). This is quite normal and usually only lasts for a few days after the impact or accident which caused the whiplash injury.

3. Neck Pain.

You might have expected to see this one earlier in the list, but here is neck pain. The reason it is not at number one is because quite frequently it is not actually experienced until after the other items above. Headaches and dizziness can often be instant, whereas often the neck symptoms can take a little while longer to develop. When they do appear, they can range from mild aching in the neck to very severe pain, often with more intense shooting pains which can particularly be experienced with movement.

4. Shoulder Pain.

Not surprisingly, because the neck takes the most impact, the areas closest to it can also be stretched and strained leading to pain. The shoulders can be wrenched in the impact and the soft tissues stretched beyond their normal ranges of movement, just like the neck. This pain can be experienced with or without neck pain.

5. Back Pain.

This can be to the upper or lower areas of the back, and again can come on immediately or within a few days of the impact.

6. Pins And Needles.

You might experience the nasty tingling sensation of pins and needles in your arms and hands caused by the neck or shoulder injury. This can be intermittent or can last for several minutes at a time. It is a symptom of some of your nerves being compressed by the strain to your neck.

What To Do?

If you are experiencing any of these whiplash symptoms you should immediately seek medical treatment from your doctor or the local accident and emergency hospital.

If the whiplash injury was caused by someone else in a car accident or motorbike accident, you should take early advice from a specialist whiplash claim solicitor.


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