Whiplash is when a sudden movement or jolt to the body or head causes damage to the ligaments and tendons (the tissues that connect bones), and muscles in the neck.
A common cause of whiplash is a car or motorcycle accident, when the force of stopping suddenly, or a collision, makes your head move away from your body. It doesn't matter from which side a collision happens - whiplash can happen if your head is thrown sideways, as well as forward or back. Even collisions at slow speed can cause whiplash.
Whiplash causes pain, stiffness and loss of movement in the neck.
Other symptoms can include:
- headaches
- muscle spasms
- pain in the shoulders or arms
Sometimes whiplash can even lead to loss of memory, poor concentration and irritability.
Symptoms of whiplash often don't appear when the injury is caused. It may take 6–12 hours for symptoms to show and they may continue to get worse in the days after the injury. Sometimes, it even takes a few days for any symptoms to show.
Usually, symptoms begin to improve after a few days and in around 60% of cases, symptoms completely disappear after four weeks.
But it can take a few months for symptoms to completely go away and some people will still have stiffness and pain some time after the injury occurred.
In a small number of cases, symptoms can last for more than six months before they finally go. There may even be long-term neck discomfort, depending on how bad the injury is, and how effective treatment has been.
