What Happens to your Body if you Ignore the Signs of Whiplash

When your body sustains a forceful impact from a car crash or sports injury, your head can fly back and forth at high speed, damaging your neck. This kind of injury is known as whiplash. If you don't suffer immediate pain from the incident, you might assume that you can simply forget about it. Unfortunately, ignoring the early signs of whiplash can eventually hurt you even worse.

Whiplash Symptoms That Merit Medical Attention

Sports injuries, auto collisions, and other high-impact events can dislodge your cervical vertebrae and vertebral discs, with cervical nerve compression as a common result. Hyperextension and hyperflexion of the neck can also tear tendons, muscles, and ligaments. All this damage can produce classic signs and symptoms such as:

• Stiffness and pain in the neck, shoulders, or upper back.
• A constant headache originates from the point where the neck attaches to the head.
• Jaw pain and/or swallowing problems
• Dizzy spells
• Tinnitus
• Blurred vision

If you experience any of these issues, you need immediate medical evaluation. In addition to a whiplash injury, these signs could also indicate a concussion or other co-occurring injury.

It's worth noting that signs and symptoms don't always strike you right away. It might take days or weeks for pain and other symptoms to appear. If you assume that all is well instead of getting your neck evaluated, you could be setting the stage for long-term trouble.

What Could Happen if You Ignore Your Symptoms

The longer you ignore the symptoms (or assume that you weren't injured by your auto accident or another incident), the more problems you invite. For instance, dulling your neck pain with medication may lead to addiction or other unwanted side effects. Meanwhile, an uncorrected spinal misalignment will continue to place abnormal strain on your neck muscles, aggravating the pain and creating additional damage. Nerve compression can interfere with signals between your brain and your upper extremities, leading to discomfort and loss of function in your arms and hands.

Signs of Whiplash's Short and Long-Term Effects

Early signs include most of the effects noted above. You may suffer from ringing in the ears, cognitive problems, headaches, jaw pain, and stiffness that causes severe pain whenever you try to move your neck. With proper treatment, however, these symptoms should fade over time.

Without early diagnosis and treatment, whiplash's acute, temporary symptoms can turn into chronic pain conditions. Additionally, an uncorrected cervical spinal misalignment can promote degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, bone spurs, and progressive degeneration of the jaw's temporomandibular joint. The effects of long-term nerve compression can even impact your systemic health, plaguing you with everything from stomach problems and mood disorders to chronic fatigue and insomnia.

How to Prevent or Minimize Whiplash Effects

While you can't always prevent the accidents that cause whiplash, you can safeguard your body against potential neck injuries. If you play a contact sport, for instance, always equip yourself with the appropriate protective gear for your neck and head. When driving, adjust your headrest so that it offers as much cervical support as possible in case of a car crash.

The stronger and more flexible your neck and upper body, the better they'll hold up in a collision or sports injury. Exercise regularly, get proper nutrition, and avoid overuse strain at work to optimize your neck alignment and muscles.

The most important step for minimizing effects involves scheduling an immediate spinal exam from an experienced chiropractor. The sooner you get any damage treated, the fewer long-term issues you'll experience.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash Injury Treatment

Chiropractic care provides safe, effective treatment for injuries. Your chiropractor can make adjustments that restore your cervical spine to its proper alignment, easing muscular strain and nerve compression while also preventing long-term degenerative damage. Your treatment plan may also include physical rehabilitation to rehabilitate your neck.

Whether you're already experiencing the telltale signs of whiplash or you just want to make sure you don't have a lurking neck injury, do the right thing for your present and future health. Contact Core Health Spine & Rehabilitation right away to schedule a cervical spinal evaluation and receive any necessary treatment.