Thursday 21 January 2016

Whiplash: A neck injury which one should never ignore

Whiplash is common injury in which soft tissues of the neck are involved. This injury generally happens after car or road accident or by sudden movement of the neck forward, backward or sideways. 


The most common symptom to diagnose this injury is neck pain immediately or few hours after the accident. Other symptoms may include stiffness in the neck or sore neck, headache followed by dizziness or blurred vision, numbness in the neck, shoulder, back or arms, difficulty in swallowing etc.
 

An x-ray of the neck along with CAT scan and MRI test are done to diagnose this problem. This injury is easily treatable and the patient have to wear cervical collars for 2-3 weeks to restrict neck mobility. Pain killers or anti-inflammatory medicines and muscle relaxants are given to provide relief from pain followed by physiotherapy once the collar is removed. To avoid aggravation, consulting a neurospine specialist is a must!

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