Whiplash: A Pain in the Neck

Have you ever experienced a sudden and unexpected back and forth movement of the neck, or an injury to some part of the neck and head caused by that type of motion?

This is whiplash, a term that describes an injury to the neck that commonly occurs as a result of a rear impact motor vehicle accident. Typically, the occupant in the vehicle that gets “rear-ended” (hit from behind) is at the greatest risk of injury.

When that fender bender occurred, your symptoms could have been delayed a few hours or even until the next day. You may have felt mild pain in the neck, muscle spasm, and possibly tenderness to the touch. Recovery from this mild whiplash usually allows you to return to activities within days or even weeks. However, you may be one of many suffering from the more severe types of whiplash, in which case pain begins immediately following the accident and is accompanied by loss of neck range of motion, and moderate to severe radiating pain (pain moving into the head and/or down the arms). Recovery from this type of whiplash may take weeks to months, and in some cases, symptoms that are persistent can become chronically painful.

Whiplash effects different types of soft tissues, such as the muscles, tendons, ligaments, spinal discs, and sometimes, in more severe types, the nerves. Injuries to any of these soft tissues can produce similar symptoms. It’s not always necessary to know exactly what has been damaged, as treatments for soft tissue injuries are similar. However, nerve damage can complicate the treatment and is most problematic.

Pain medication is one of the many treatments offered, which can have short-term benefits, but longer term use may be harmful, as it can reduce your threshold for pain tolerance. You may have experienced passive treatments when you saw a physician, physiotherapist or massage therapist and were provided hot or cold packs, ultrasound, electro-stimulation, acupuncture, massage, or manual neck mobilizations. Maybe you were told to “take it easy” and they recommended prolonged rest periods, or you were asked to wear a protective neck collar. Though research has shown that in the early stages of a whiplash injury, some passive treatments can be beneficial for the patient; prolonged use of them may be harmful and are not recommended as long-term solutions.

However, if passive treatments are combined with active treatments, such as neck-specific corrective exercise, often conducted by a Kinesiologist, it is probably the active portion that is most helpful. Under the guidance of a Kinesiologist, you can learn to move your neck through a series of exercises, which helps the injured tissues to recover more quickly, to allow for proper joint movement, and to regain a pain-free range of motion.

When you are thinking about that “pain in the neck” just remember that recovery from a whiplash injury begins with increased function. Even though you may still feel the same pain, pursuing a specialized exercise program and becoming more active means you are getting better. Pain is usually the last to go, but remember, doing less will end up hurting more.