Don’t Ignore These Symptoms of Whiplash

Whiplash describes a neck injury caused by a rapid, forceful, back-and-forth jolt within the neck tissues, aggravated by the weight of the head. Although whiplash is the most common car accident injury, it can happen in any situation where those forces exist, including sports accidents, falls, work injuries, amusement park rides, and more. One thing our Scottsdale and Phoenix physical therapists at Endurance Rehabilitation stress is that whiplash symptoms are often delayed by hours, and sometimes even days or weeks. That means that you may have been injured earlier and not realize how your symptoms are connected to the event that caused them. So, if you experience any of these three whiplash symptoms, seek help from your physical therapist:

1. Neck Pain and Stiffness that Limits Range of Motion

Sudden movement can irritate and inflame the muscles, ligaments, tendons, vertebrae, and nerves in the neck. Inflammation is the body’s response to injury, which can cause additional stiffness that makes it hard to turn your head or bend your neck without pain. This is usually the first whiplash symptom to emerge.

2. Headaches

Tension in the neck muscles at the base of the skull can spread upwards to cause tension headaches. Our physical therapists in Scottsdale and Phoenix have observed that people with whiplash also experience an increase in migraines because of disturbances in the nerves and blood vessels connecting the neck and head.

3. Pain That Radiates to the Shoulders and Upper Back

Naturally, all of the body’s tissues are connected, so when one area is injured, connecting tissues often experience stress and inflammation, too. Many whiplash injuries involve additional pain and stiffness in the shoulders, upper back, and even down into the arms. In some cases, people experience numbness and tingling in these areas because the whiplash injury pinches nerves in the neck.

Get Whiplash Treatment in Phoenix and Scottsdale

No matter what happened to cause your whiplash symptoms, schedule an appointment with the physical therapists Scottsdale and Phoenix neighbors go to for healing, rehabilitation, and lasting neck pain relief after a whiplash injury.