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Spinal Disorders
  Cervical Sprain / Whiplash
Overview
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CERVICAL SPRAIN / WHIPLASH
Overview
Symptoms
Stiffness or decrease in range of motion, pain in the back of the neck that worsens with movement, pain that often peaks a day or so after the injury instead of immediately, possible muscle spasms and pain in the upper regions of the shoulders, headache in the rear of the head, ncreased irritability, fatigue, numbness in the arm or hand, tingling or weakness in the arms.


General Overview
Whiplash A sprain is a stretch or tear in the ligament resulting from a sudden movement that causes the neck to extend to an extreme position. For example, in the rapid deceleration of a car crash, your head and neck can stretch far forward before stopping.

Whiplash occurs when an impact pushes your head one way, and then another when it recoils back. About 20 percent of people involved in rear-end collisions later experience symptoms that center in the neck region. Although most of these people recover quickly, a small number develop chronic conditions that result in severe pain and sometimes disability.

The term "whiplash" is probably best reserved for describing the mechanism of injury, and is of little value as a diagnosis. The actual cause of the symptoms can be either a stretch or tear of the ligament (sprain/strain), a muscle stretch or tear, or pinching on the nerves caused by the hinging that occurs due to the bending that occurs with a whiplash injury.

It is important to remember that patient's symptoms may well be worse a day after the injury. X ray results for neck injuries seldom add much to the clinical assessment, but the consequences of unrecognized cervical spine injuries are so severe that it is still worth while to x ray relatively mild injuries.

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