Long-Term Conditions Associated With Whiplash

March 5, 2021 | Posted by: Begum Law Group

Whiplash can be a severe condition that may be minor or can lead to life-long injuries. Read below to learn more about the long-term conditions associated with whiplash.

If you’ve been injured in a car accident or other personal injury incident that led to whiplash, you need to speak with an attorney right away.

Call Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers at (866) 523-4167 or use our online contact form to reach out.

How Can Whiplash Affect Me Long-Term?

Whiplash is often considered a minor injury where neck muscles are strained. However, it can be much more severe than that.

Some long-term effects of whiplash include:

Chronic pain and stiffness in the neck and shoulders
Dizziness
Ringing in the ears
Upper back pain
Severe, chronic headaches
Jaw pain
Sensory problems in the hands and arms
Numbness and weakness in the hands, arms, and fingers
Blurry vision
Difficulty sleeping
Memory problems
Difficulty concentrating
Depression
Permanent personality changes

Severe whiplash can also be associated with broken vertebrae, stressed muscles, ruptured tendons, and more.

How Do I Know if I Have Long-Term Consequences of Whiplash

It’s important to get ongoing medical treatment after a car crash or any other injury that causes your whiplash. By seeing your doctor regularly and getting the specialists’ opinions, you will have documentation of the ongoing symptoms that you are experiencing due to whiplash.

Your doctor may have you get diagnostic imaging like x-rays or an MRI to determine how severe your whiplash is. You may have to get multiple images over time to see the progression of your condition. This information will be documented in your medical records for your whiplash attorney to review and provide evidence to the insurance company.

How Is Long-Term Whiplash Treated?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the goal with whiplash treatment is pain management, restoring normal range of motion, and getting you back to normal activities. This is done by controlling pain, exercises, physical therapy, and foam collars.

Minor pain management may take place through rest or applying heat or cold to the area that hurts. However, you may need over-the-counter or prescription pain medications. Muscle relaxants might be used short-term to loosen and soothe muscles. If muscles continue to be painful long-term, you might need injections of lidocaine, a numbing medication, to decrease the pain so you can do physical therapy and other treatments.

At-home exercise can help restore your range of motion in your neck. They will likely include stretching and movement exercises. Applying moist heat or taking a warm shower before your exercises may be suggested.

Physical therapy can help with long-term whiplash. It can assist with range-of-motion and get you back to normal activities. Your therapist may use a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit on you to ease neck and back pain as well. The number of PT sessions you will need depends on your condition’s severity and how you react to the therapy.

After your injury, your doctor may immediately prescribe a soft foam collar to prevent movement of your neck. This can help you sleep safely at night without reinjuring yourself. However, long periods of collar use can interfere with recovery by decreasing muscle strength.

Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers Is Here for You

If you were injured in a car accident or other personal injury incident and now have whiplash, you should contact an attorney right away. We will make sure you get ongoing medical care and get the compensation you deserve from the insurance company.