Can Whiplash Have Long-term Consequences?

Certain injuries, including those resulting from car accidents, can have long-lasting pain and discomfort. One of the most common injuries people suffer following a car accident is whiplash. This type of injury can increase one’s risk for long-term complications and pain. 

 

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries occur when the head and neck suddenly move forward and backward due to unexpected force. This movement puts the cervical spine through extreme stresses and quick motions. 

 

Most cases of whiplash stem from car accidents. Other potential causes, while rare, include injuries sustained during football, assault, falls, bungee jumping, and other high-impact activities. Essentially, these are injuries resulting from extreme acceleration and deceleration forces applied to the cervical spine.

 

Importance of Seeking Immediate Treatment

Are you experiencing severe neck stiffness and pain following an auto accident? If so, it is possible to remain somewhat disabled for months or even years if you fail to seek treatment. Unfortunately, many people tend to consider whiplash a minor injury. However, it is more serious than most accident victims think.

 

Thus, it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible if you are experiencing symptoms of whiplash. The long-term consequences of untreated whiplash can have a serious impact on your health. 

 

Symptoms of Whiplash

Neck pain is the most common symptom of whiplash. The pain you experience can range anywhere from mild tingling to excruciating pain. Other symptoms include neck instability, reduced range of motion, neck stiffness, headache, and upper back and/or neck pain. You may also experience numbness, weakness, or tingling that radiates from your neck into your shoulders or down the arm. 

 

That said, the consequences of a whiplash injury can be long-lasting, complicated, difficult to diagnose, and numerous. Doctors often refer to such symptoms as whiplash-associated disorders. 

 

Long-term Consequences of Untreated Whiplash Injuries

Many cases of whiplash injury tend to resolve within a few weeks for those who received proper treatment soon after the injury. But sometimes, the restriction, discomfort, and pain resulting from the injury can persist for years or even a lifetime. Some of the common long-term effects of whiplash injury include:

 

• Lower or upper back pain
   

• Stiffness and chronic pain in the neck and/or shoulders
   

• Jaw pain
   

• Ongoing fits of dizziness
   

• Weakness, numbness, or other sensory symptoms in the arms, hands, or legs
   

• Chronic or severe headaches
   

• Constant ringing in the ears that comes and goes
   

• Difficulty sleeping
   

• Blurry vision
   

• Difficulty concentrating
   

• Memory problems
   

• Permanent personality changes
  
   

Why You May Experience the Long-term Effects of Whiplash

Long-term consequences of whiplash are more common than most people think. You may experience them if you suffered a serious auto accident and failed to seek immediate medical treatment. Such consequences may also stem from an injury to the joints, discs, or ligaments in your neck, or from a spinal fracture.

 

You will likely experience the long-term effects of whiplash if you re-injure your neck during the initial healing process. Do you have a preexisting neck condition? If you do, suffering a whiplash injury can cause long-term symptoms. The same applies if you experience a severe inflammatory response to your injury.

To learn more about whiplash or to seek treatment for a whiplash injury, schedule an appointment with Cashae Spine & Sports at our office in Silver Spring, Maryland. You can call us at (240) 219-8975 today.