Whiplash is a neck injury caused by sudden and forceful back-and-forth movement of the neck. It is the most common injury perceived during a car accident however other types of trauma like fall from height, sports injuries, and physical abuse can also result in whiplash injury.

The medical term used for whiplash injury is Whiplash Associated Disorder. Sometimes, whiplash is also called neck sprain or strain, but these terms also include other types of neck injuries.

Signs and Symptoms:

Signs and symptoms of whiplash usually develop a few days after the event which caused the injury and require time to heal, depending upon the severity of the trauma. Common signs and symptoms of whiplash injury include the following:

• Neck pain and stiffness
• Decreased or total loss of neck movements
• Headache
• Exacerbation of pain during neck movements
• Partial or complete sensory loss in the hands and arms
• Numbness and Tingling in the hands and arms
• Pain in the shoulder, arms, and upper back
• Fatigue and dizziness (Tameem et al., 2013)

Treatment:
The patient with whiplash injury usually presents in the emergency department, and the main goal of treatment at that time is relieving the patient’s pain. After the pain is relieved, the definite treatment goals include the following:

• Restoration of the normal range of motion of your neck
• Promoting healing
• Preventing flare-ups
• Getting you back to your routine activities.

The approach and treatment plan depends on the severity of the trauma. Some patients only need over-the-counter medications for pain relief. Others require prescription medications, physical therapy, specialized treatment plans, and follow-ups. (Yadla et al., 2007)

Pain management
Your doctor will prescribe the following measures and medications to relieve the pain and prevent flare-ups:

• Bed rest for a few days, however, it should be noted that too much bed rest may prolong recovery time
• Heat or cold packs applied to your neck 4-6 times daily to relieve pain and tenderness
• Over-the-counter pain reliever drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen for mild to moderate pain
• Prescription medications, such as opioids and antidepressants for severe or neuropathic pain.
• Muscle relaxants such as tizanidine or orphenadrine for loosening of tight muscles and soothing pain
• Local injections such as Xylocaine for relieving pain when injected into the affected muscle. (Yadla et al., 2007)

Exercise and Physical Therapy:
Your doctor will recommend movement and stretching exercises to do at home in order to restore the range of motion of your neck and promote healing. In addition to these exercises, a warm shower or steam applied to your neck can also help decrease recovery time. The series of exercises that are helpful after whiplash injury include the following:

• Rotating your neck in both directions
• Twisting your neck toward your chest
• Bending your head side to side
• Shoulder rolling

In case your prolonged, your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist to assist you in effectively doing various exercises. Physical therapy can help you recover and prevent further damage. Physical therapy also helps to improve posture, strengthen muscles, and restore normal functions.

In severe and non-responsive cases, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can help in easing pain and improve functions. Your physical therapist will prescribe a specific number of sessions depending on the degree of trauma perceived to your neck. (Haiduk et al., 2017)

Immobilization Techniques:
The use of foam collars for whiplash injury has limited clinical significance because holding the neck in one position for a long time can decrease muscle power and make your neck stiff. However, foam collars are still used to reduce pain associated with movement after an injury or during nighttime for better sleep. Most physical therapists and doctors allow foam collars to be applied for less than 72 hours. Before using a foam collar, you should consult your physical therapist. (Barati et al., 2017)

Alternative Medicine:
Nontraditional treatments have been used for treating whiplash injuries, but research about their clinical efficacy is limited. Some of the common non-traditional treatments for whiplash injuries include the following:

• Acupuncture:
  Acupuncture techniques have long been used for whiplash injuries and still have comparable clinical usage in the United States. Acupuncture involves inserting fine needles into the specific areas of your skin that helps to relieve pain and stiffness associated with injury.
• Chiropractic care:
  Chiropractic techniques for joint maneuvering can prove efficacious if performed by an expert. According to research, chiropractic techniques can increase pain relief when used in combination with physical therapy and exercises. Manipulating spine joints can cause minor problems in rare cases which may include dizziness and numbness.
• Massage:
  Massage can provide temporary relief from the symptoms of a whiplash injury, but it has no efficacy in definitive or long-term treatment.
• Mind-body therapies:
  These therapies include exercises involving focused breathing and mindfulness that are combined with gentle movements to help ease pain and stiffness as well as stress and depression associated with the illness. Common examples of mind-body techniques include tai chi, yoga, and qi gong. (Anderson et al., 2018)

After an injury, you must see your doctor immediately so that you can begin down the road to recovery. When you see your doctor and any recommended specialists and physical therapists or other medical providers, you want to give them as much information as necessary to help them make a correct diagnosis and come up with a course of treatment. While speaking to your doctor about your injuries, it is important that she is provided with the following information and that your medical record is correctly noted:

Medical history
For your doctor to properly assess you, she needs to know about your medical history before your accident. If you experienced aches and pains before the injury – tell your doctor. Your doctor must know your history, current health conditions, and family history to accurately treat you.

For example, many people suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) and should therefore not take certain medications. If your doctor is unaware of your condition, she may prescribe medications that can weaken your blood pressure medicine and unintentionally cause further health issues during or after the course of your treatment.

Facts About the Accident
Inform your doctor about the facts of your case without embellishing them. This will help the doctor look for injuries that are not visible. For example, if you tripped going up a flight of stairs and hit your head and broke your arm, your doctor will, of course, know you need to have your arm set and you will need to be in a cast for several weeks. On the other hand, if you do not tell the doctor about the injury to your head, she will not know to check you for a concussion or other brain injury.

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Your Pain
When asked how we are feeling, most of us will respond, “I’m fine” or “I’m great”. If you are in a doctor’s office following an accident, you are most likely not fine and certainly not great. Let your doctor know about the pain you are experiencing and about what makes it better and what makes it worse. Your doctor will have a better sense of how the treatment and medications are working if you are candid about your pain and will be able to make the proper adjustments to ensure you are better able to recover from your injuries. Additionally, if you are experiencing mental health issues such as depression due to the injury, that too should be shared with your doctor.

Your New Normal
It is likely your injuries have changed how you go about your daily life – maybe you can’t pick up your new baby, you can’t wash laundry, walk your dog, garden, go to yoga, golf, sit in a movie theater chair for more than a few minutes, lift anything at work, or work at all. These are things you want your doctor to know and to note in your chart. At some point down the line, an insurance adjuster, defense attorney, and maybe even a jury will be reading your medical record. It adds integrity to your case if you can show, through your medical records, that your injuries have been ongoing since the traumatic event that caused them.

Many times people want to get in and out of their doctor’s appointments. However, it is important for your recovery that your doctor knows of and documents all your ailments, both seen and unseen, to properly assess and treat you. Further, this information will help connect your injury to the accident and helps calculate your monetary and non-monetary damages when it is time for your lawyer to argue your case.

At West Law Firm, we know a detailed and accurate medical record can make a huge difference in a personal injury case. If you have been injured in an accident, you want an attorney who can assess the full scope of your injuries to ensure you are justly compensated for your losses.

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A car accident or other incident that has caused injury due to the negligence of another will leave the victim with economic and non-economic damages or rather, monetary damages (economic) and non-monetary damages that are often referred to as pain and suffering for which there is no clear cut numerical value (non-economic).

Economic Damages
Economic damages are easy to calculate for the most part – they include those monetary costs the victim has incurred or lost as a result of an accident, such as:

1. Medical Bills
2. Lost Wages;
3. Replacing or repairing damaged property
4. Moving costs
5. Hotel costs
6. Parking costs when you attend doctor’s visits
7. Hiring a maid service because you can no longer clean, etc.

A person injured in an accident should keep an accurate record of all monetary expenditures incurred as a result of their accident.

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Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are harder to calculate but they are oftentimes the bulk of the pain and suffering one experiences after a traumatic event is thrust into their life.
When you’ve been injured in an accident, you want to be sure to tell your doctor about any new fears you have developed as a result of an accident. For example, if you were injured in an automobile accident and develop a fear of driving – tell your doctor; if you become depressed, tell your doctor. Other non-economic damages include:

1. Loss of enjoyment of activities in your daily life such as gardening, hanging out with friends, being unable to pick up your new baby
2. Being unable to attend your favorite yoga class that you once attended religiously
3. Missing golf dates
4. Being unable to be intimate with your partner
5. Feeling embarrassed in public because of a disfigurement, among other issues.

After an injury, it is important to speak candidly with your doctor to make sure your medical record reflects the impact of your injury on life. In addition to being open with your doctor, your attorney, who will advocate on your behalf with the insurance company, lawyers, and possibly a jury, must also know of all your ailments to ensure the proper valuation of your case.

At West Law Firm, we become a part of our client’s lives so that we can get to know them. We take the time to learn about their lives before the accident and to learn about what’s left after the accident. In this way, we can properly value each client’s injuries, both seen and unseen, and obtain fair compensation.

Call West Law Firm at 301-246-6698 for a Free Consultation!