Because of this being a touchy subject, I went to my radiology text book, Essentials of Skeletal Radiology. According to this text book, “The so-called whiplash syndrome is a common clinical condition that has received a high volume of published material since the 1960s, much of which – when scrutinized scientifically for validity – is found flawed. Neck spasms are common in all Western countries, and are reported in 20 to 60% of all motor vehicle accidents.
Classically, the injury follows a forced, hyperextension – hyperinflection of the cervical spine, most commonly associated with a rear-end motor vehicle collision. The lay press and legal profession have popularized the term whiplash as an all embracing term for a wide variety of soft tissue neck injuries from a broad spectrum of cases. Synonyms are numerous, including acceleration-deceleration, flexion-extension, hyperflexion-hyperextension, sprain-strain, myofascial injury, and soft tissue injury.
There is no consensus on terminology, though the most contemporary and appropriate term appears to the cervical sprain-strain injury.”
These are some of the classic symptoms that are associated with a whiplash. The patient can experience pain in the posterior neck (back of the neck), and it may be dull or aching with more pain on movement, sharp pain on movement, or a combination of the two. The patient can also have pain radiating to the head, shoulders, and arms, and most will have to a great deal of stiffness in the neck. These symptoms are also associated with this condition: dizziness headaches, blurring vision, ringing in the ears, and memory impairment.
Out of the 6 million motor vehicle accidents that occur in the U.S. every year, over 1 million result in whiplash injuries to the neck. Other causes of whiplash include sports injuries, falls, or sudden stops on theme park rides. A whiplash injury occurs when the head (weighing 10 to 12 pounds) is jolted violently backwards (hyperextension) and then snapped forward and down (hyperflexion). This blink of an eye movement can damage cervical discs and tear muscles, ligaments, and tendons that support the cervical spine, usually resulting in nerve root compression. Twice as many women as men suffer whiplash injuries. (The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – http://www.iihs.org)
Following a motor vehicle accident, 15-14% of whiplash injuries become chronic (pain lasting longer than 6 months). The most common source of chronic neck pain following a whiplash injury is damage to cervical Focet joints and discs. (Schofferman, Jerome, MD; Bogduk, Nikolai, MD; Slosor, Paul MD; Chronic Whiplashand Whiplash Associated Disorders – An Evidence Based Approach. Journal of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Vol. 15, Num. 10, October, 2007, 590-606)
Sources: Essentials of Skeletal Radiology The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – http://www.iihs.org (Schofferman, Jerome, MD; Bogduk, Nikolai, MD; Slosor, Paul MD; Chronic Whiplashand Whiplash Associated Disorders – An Evidence Based Approach. Journal of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Vol. 15, Num. 10, October, 2007, 590-606)
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