How can Whiplash injury be recognized
How can Whiplash injury be recognized
A whiplash injury which happens to the neck is caused by the sudden jolt of the head, first backward then forward or sideways. This injury can happen due to several reasons, like road traffic accident, sports, etc. Although whiplash injury is not life threatening, however; this is necessary to consult a doctor without wasting time. Sometimes, due to an accident, serious injuries may involve the neck in which stabilization of the neck spine becomes mandatory. Therefore; proper diagnosis of whiplash injury at prompt is required in order to avoid any future complication.
This is necessary to recognize a whiplash injury in order to get appropriate treatment. There are a number of signs and symptoms that develop due to whiplash injury. The most common symptom is the neck pain that happens in the majority of cases. Some of the people use to develop neck stiffness as well due to whiplash injury. The other symptoms of this condition include; irritability, dizziness, pain between the shoulders, headache, nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, vertigo, tingling and numbness, etc.
It should be noted that in many cases, the symptoms of whiplash injury take years to develop. People use to avoid taking the treatment until they develop any major sign and symptom. However; in case of a whiplash injury, delay in taking the treatment could be dangerous since the symptoms may take years to develop and the complications increase with the passage of time.
There are some specific characteristics of the symptoms mentioned above which make the diagnosis of a whiplash injury likely. For instance; majority of the patients develops headache. The headache due to whiplash injury is felt on one side, off and on, sometimes constantly or at one specific spot. The shoulder pain due to whiplash injury radiates to the back, and it could be due to muscle tension.
The tear of muscles due to whiplash injury causes burning type of pain, which is remarkably different from other types of painful conditions. If the disc of vertebrae is damaged then a patient develops sharp pain in movement. Although these symptoms are mixed and confusing for a lay person, and he might not be able to have an idea that he is suffering from pain due to a whiplash injury. However; all of these symptoms are enough to reach at the point that prompt medical checkup and treatment are mandatory.
In reality, a whiplash injury happens in the soft tissues without any insult on the bones. These soft tissue injuries could not be seen on a normal radiograph. However; there are advanced imaging techniques like CT scan, Ultrasound or MRI, which can even provide evidence of soft tissue injuries as well. Therefore; if the whiplash injury is suspected, a doctor advises for imagining so that the prompt diagnosis could be established, and the treatment could be started accordingly.
This article is provided for information purposes only. Please consult a doctor for treatment options. This article is not written by a doctor or checked for accuracy by a physician.
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