Traumatology >>>> Whiplash neck injury - what is it?

Whiplash neck injury - what is it?

The name "whiplash" has nothing to do with a whip blow, except it is similar to such a blow in speed and sharpness. In medicine, a whiplash is understood as a sudden movement of any part of the movable joints, unexpected by a person, in a direction unusual for their capabilities, which leads to injury. The most common whiplash injuries occur in the spinal column (especially in the cervical and lumbar regions) or in the region of the extremities - that is, in those parts of the human body with which he tends to move (turns, flexion - extension, abduction, bends and deviations).

It is the unusual deviation of the neck (in an unusual direction for the cervical spine) that leads to a whiplash injury to the neck.

What is a whiplash injury to the neck? This is a spine injury in the cervical spine, which is easy to get in everyday life, even if you are a very careful person.

The most common causes of a whiplash injury are a sudden head tilt back:

with a sharp braking of transport - the inertial force continues to move the head relative to the body, when the body has already stopped moving,
with any sharp jolt, when the head accidentally and involuntarily leans back,
when removing a person from a blow or evading a flying object (for example, a snowball, a pillow, a ball during games),
in the case when a person does not fit into the turn in the room and tries to avoid hitting the corner of the wall,
in case of an unexpected appearance on the way of the edge of an open door, which threatens to injure the person,
with a sharp tossing of the head from a tilt position (for example, when a person was called out, and he sharply raised his head, not having time to straighten his body),
with a sharp deviation of the head back from the shower stream
and with all possible surprises that arise in the face of a person and force him to sharply move his head back, trying to increase the distance between the face and the unexpected phenomenon.

A whiplash injury to the neck can be fatal if at the moment of a sharp tilt of the head back, vital anatomical structures of the spine were touched, for example, nerve fibers that penetrate the vertebrae in the neck are torn or too impaired, vertebral joints are fractured and blood vessels supplying the brain with blood are torn.

Whiplash injury to the neck can have signs that are delayed over time. It seems that everything worked out, and after a while (hours, days) it starts for example:

dizziness,
nausea,
loss of consciousness,
imbalance of limb movements,
blurred vision,
headache,
general malaise - do not forget that with a whiplash injury, the most important vital organs suffer: the spinal cord and the brain.

Whiplash injury of the neck is always accompanied by a significant pain syndrome, since the tissues after the injury become inflamed and swollen and can squeeze adjacent areas, the vertebrae can shift and pinch the nerve endings, tendon joints and muscle fibers can tear as with strong muscle sprains.

Whiplash neck injury requires immediate medical attention, since a thorough examination of the injury site is necessary to prescribe adequate therapy. In the first days after this type of injury, an orthopedic collar is required, which fixes the neck and head in the correct position and prevents unwanted neck and head movements that aggravate the inflammation.

Any delay can give an impetus to the chronicity of the inflammatory process and irreversible changes in the surrounding tissues, which will turn an acute condition in trauma into a chronic disease of the nervous system or musculoskeletal system.

For the treatment of whiplash neck injury, pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, decongestants and muscle relaxants are used in stages. When the acute phase subsides, physiotherapy (cryotherapy, electrophoresis) is prescribed to stimulate the regeneration of damaged tissues. Massage of the cervical spine is carried out according to indications and in the case when obvious tissue tears have been repaired and the inflammation has subsided. The massage is aimed at stimulating the muscular corset of the cervical spine and preventing contracture of the muscles involved in the injury.

In case of significant damage to the spinal column in the neck with a whiplash injury, surgical intervention may be necessary.

Treatment of a whiplash neck injury can last from three weeks to six months or more if the traumatic processes have affected complex anatomical structures.