 What Is Whiplash?
"Is 'whiplash' injury a real injury?"
It certainly is and a very well-documented one at that. Over 50 years ago whiplash injuries were seen in pilots who were launched from aircraft carriers by high power steam catapults. The rapid acceleration literally pulled their bodies out from underneath their heads, injuring their necks. Research shows that same type of injury at work today in whiplash injuries.
A whiplash type of injury takes its name from the mechanism that causes it. A sudden impact to the body causes a whipping trauma to the neck and head. Today they are usually seen in auto accidents when one car hits another and the force is transmitted through the body of the car to the car seat and eventually into the person. During the impact, the moving car creates thousands of pounds of force in the blink of an eye. The result is a violent whipping of the spine, or "whiplash."
The actual damage is a tearing of muscles and ligaments in the neck, upper back and sometimes lower back. But the most significant area of damage is to the nerves of the spine.
The rapid impact and location of the damage is one reason some of the symptoms do not immediately appear or aren't immediately associated with the accident.
The best research says that this injury is serious and takes great skill in evaluation and treatment.
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Auto Accidents
