Whiplash is an injury to the neck commonly caused when sitting in a carthat is either shunted in the rear, or which hits an object at the front. Although the body is strapped in, the head is not restrained and sudden acceleration or deceleration will jerk the head backwards and then forwards (or vice versa) to overstretch tissues in the neck. This leads to sprained or even torn ligaments, strained muscles and sometimes a partial dislocation of one or more of the small joints between cervical vertebrae.
Typically pain and stiffness increase over 24 hours following the original injury. Whiplash can also injure nerve fibres, leading to numbness, burning and tingling in the fingers and, in severe cases, may cause weakness or even paralysis of arm muscles. Other symptoms that may appear include headache and tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
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