Cervical Spine Strain/Sprain (Whiplash)

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries occur when your head suddenly jerks forwards or backwards (resembling a whip being cracked.) Whiplash is most commonly brought on by car accidents, but it can also be brought on by physical abuse, contact sports injuries, or any other incident that has forced the ligaments and muscles in your neck to operate outside their normal range of motion, causing them to stretch and tear.

While the causes, symptoms, and treatments of a cervical spine strain and a cervical spine sprain are generally the same, the conditions are in fact slightly different. Strains are brought on by damage to the muscle or tendons, while neck sprains are brought on by the stretching or tearing of ligaments.

Symptoms 

Symptoms of whiplash can begin occurring immediately, hours after, or days after a traumatic incident. If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms, you may have sustained a whiplash injury:

• Neck pain and stiffness

• Back or shoulder pain

• Pain with forward, backward, and side-to-side head movement

• Decreased range of motion in the head

• Headaches at the base of the skull

• Neck muscles that feel hard or knotted

• Dizziness

• Blurry vision

• Fatigue

Some people may also have trouble concentrating, difficulty with memory, an onset of ringing in their ears, trouble sleeping, or irritability. Whiplash can lead to a concussion, so if you are feeling confused, dizzy, nauseous or very fatigued, seek medical attention right away.

Treatment

There are several ways to treat whiplash, so if your symptoms persist, it’s important to seek professional help in order to tackle the problem correctly. 

• Heat/Ice treatment

• Soft tissue mobilization

• Joint mobilization

• Mobility training

• Progressive resistive exercise program

• Postural education

• Electrotherapy

In conjunction with physical therapy, you can also find relief from medications like over-the-counter anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), prescription painkillers, muscle relaxants and injections of a numbing medicine called lidocaine.

Physical Therapy Exercises

The following are examples of exercises you may be prescribed in a physical therapy clinic. Please remember these do not apply to everyone and depend on your specific condition.

• Chin Tuck: Sit or stand with your back straight. Tuck your chin in towards your neck while keeping your eyes and nose facing forward. Wait until you feel a moderate stretch, hold for two seconds and repeat.

• Shoulder Blade Squeeze: Sit or stand with your back straight. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as hard as you can without experiencing pain. Hold for five seconds and repeat.

• Doorway Stretch: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart just behind a doorway. Put both arms on the edges of the door jam, your elbows at shoulder level. Lean forward with your chest until a consistent stretch is felt through the front of your chest. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat.

Prevention

It’s tough to actively prevent whiplash since it’s usually sustained after an unexpected accident. However, you can improve your chances of avoiding a severe case by practicing neck-strengthening exercises like the ones listed above.

Think you might be dealing with a cervical spine strain/sprain?  Contact MTS for an hour long 1-on-1 evaluation with a PT to get started!

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174605

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Posterior-neck-muscles-Activated-in-neck-extension-extensors_fig6_350823152

https://www.coloradospineinstitute.com/education/anatomy/ligaments-tendons-muscles/