Whiplash-associated disorder (whiplash) refers to a wide range of neck injuries. These injuries are caused by abrupt neck extension that results in distortion. Its occurrence can be attributed to multiple reasons. Car accidents, falls, sports accidents or physical abuse are some of these. Whiplash is usually cured in weeks. The treatment plans should cater to physical and mental injuries. Medicines (for pain), exercise and physical therapies such as massage therapy are effective for physical injuries. Meanwhile, mental injuries can benefit from talk therapies. So, how long should whiplash last? In some cases, it does not heal for months or maybe years. Long-term effects of whiplash injury detrimentally affect the quality of life. Here is s deep insight into its details.
Learn more about Major Mental Health Concerns Regarding Whiplash Injuries.
Long-term whiplash injury symptoms
From the initial symptoms, it is hard to predict recovery. Some of the signs that can be long-term whiplash injury symptoms in the long run include:
- Spreading of pain to the arms
- Very severe neck pain
- Higher lack of mobility
Long-term whiplash injury symptoms vs normal whiplash symptoms
In comparison to normal whiplash, these symptoms can appear something like the following.
A general rule to predict long-term side effects of whiplash would be that symptoms at the start of injury are intense. They also spread rapidly.
Case study:
In a public hospital in Sweden, a study was carried out in 2014 after 5 years of whiplash injury. 186 patients who were between 18-64 years old answered the questionnaire. 41% of them reported fatigue, 39% had poor memory, while 37% reported headaches. 35% of the patients were not able to carry the workload that they could carry previously. Only 39% of the patients were satisfied with their physical health, while 60% were satisfied with their mental health. Thus, the long-term effects of whiplash injury were recorded in most of the cases.
Factors increasing the risk of long-term whiplash effects
Long-term effects of whiplash injury are increased risk of happening in case of these factors:
- A past whiplash injury, which has a higher probability in case it was left untreated
- Severe inflammatory response
- Any spinal fracture near the neck
- Lack of treatment after whiplash
- Reinjury during the healing process
- Old age
- Already existing pain in the back or neck
What leads to the long-term effects of whiplash injury
Long-term effects of whiplash injury can appear due to a number of factors. They are described in detail below.
1. Instability and alignment issues of the neck
There is a region of your backbone in your neck that provides stability. It is called the cervical spine. In this region, seven small bones are assembled. These bones are labelled C1 to C7 (C stands for cervical). C1 is the topmost bone that is right under the skull. The bone at the bottom is C7. It is located right before the upper back.
Your head moves because of these bones, and they also shield your spinal cord, which is in charge of sending instructions from your brain to the rest of your body.
The top (C1 and C2) and bottom (C6 and C7) bones become locked when the neck snaps abruptly in a whiplash injury. This makes the middle bones (C3–C5) move around too much to make up for it. This leads to instability and pain. The muscles also become tight as a result. Neck instability can further impact the following:
Nerve issues
Your neck has nerves that go from your spinal cord to your arms and hands. If the bones are out of place, they can press on these nerves. This can cause:
- Pain
- Tingling
- Numbness in your arms and hands
Brain signals
The top part of your neck (C1 and C2) helps your brain send and receive signals. If those bones are unstable, those brain signals can get mixed up. You might notice:
- Blurry vision
- Trouble focusing
- Problems with balance or coordination
Blood flow
Important blood vessels run through your neck to bring oxygen to your brain. If your neck is unstable, it might press on these vessels. This can reduce blood flow, causing:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Tiredness (fatigue)
All of these issues contribute to the long-term effects of whiplash injury.
2. Further problems in blood flow
Your brain needs a constant blood flow to function properly. This happens due to oxygen and nutrients to cells are dependent on blood flow. Normally, the body sends more blood to the region of the brain that is working more. This is called neurovascular coupling. Whiplash disrupts this process. As a result, some regions of the brain do not get enough blood supply of blood. This leads to:
- Chronic pain
- Feeling slow and having brain fog
- Fatigue
- Concentration problems
Thus, issues in blood flow lead to long-term effects of whiplash injury.
3. Balance issues of the nervous system
ANS, or the autonomic nervous system, controls automatic processes. These functions include:
- Breathing
- Digestion
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
ANS has two parts:
- The sympathetic system is the part that puts your body in fight or flight mode. This means you are alert and stressed.
- The parasympathetic nervous system is the part that puts your body in rest mode. This means you are calm and relaxed because of it.
After the whiplash, the sympathetic system can stay on for a long time. The brain does not realise you are not in danger anymore, leading to long-term effects of whiplash injury.
It may have the following effects:
- Poor sleep
- Problems in digestion
- Mood swings/ anxiety
- Feeling of being tired
- Fast heartbeat
Get an insight into how whiplash and sleep are related.
4. Further Balance and focus issues
Your body uses the following systems for focus and balance:
- Your inner ears (called the vestibular system)
- Your eyes (vision)
- Your body sensors (called proprioception and it tells you where you are in space)
Your neck connects these systems. It transmits crucial information from the brain to these systems and vice versa. Whiplash leads to damage to these nerves. Incorrect information is transmitted, and the brain does not respond correctly. For instance, the data on your movement and position can be wrong. As a result, the following occurs:
- Blurry or double vision
- Sensitivity to light
- Strain on eyes
- Issues in reading and focus
- Feeling off balance
- Spinning feeling or dizziness
Resultantly, long-term effects of whiplash injury occur.
5. Problems with breathing
Another effect of this injury can be observed on the nerves located in the spine or the neck. These are the nerves that control the breathing muscles. They also control the lungs. Their getting pinched or damaged as a result can lead to the following symptoms, causing long-term effects of whiplash injury:
- Shortness of breath
- Failure to take a deep breath
- Disturbance in the heartbeat
- Fast or shallow breathing
- Anxiousness
Long-term effects of whiplash injury
If left untreated for a long time, the long-term effects of whiplash might worsen. This might make you think about how long should whiplash last, when should I be worried. The answer to this is if the injury lasts beyond a few weeks, inform your doctor.
Learn more about whiplash recovery time here.
Long-term effects of whiplash injury are not uncommon. Around 25-40% of the patients report the symptoms persisting for over a year. If you are wondering what are the long-term effects of whiplash, here they are.
1. Severe pain in the neck and shoulders
Whiplash injury causes muscles, small joints, ligaments, tendons, etc., to get hurt. If not treated properly, this can result in long-term pain in the entire area. When whiplash injuries are left untreated, many people continue to experience neck pain years later. Out of a hundred people, 3 or 4 feel the pain so severely that they cannot go to work.
2. Issues with mobility
Apart from pain, whiplash can also cause swelling and inflammation in neck muscles. This can make it very hard to turn the neck or the head. Daily tasks become a huge hassle due to this. Neck pain can also result in the following:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Back pains
3. Vertigo
Long-term effects of whiplash injury also include vertigo. It causes a spinning feeling in a still environment that can cause you to be extremely lightheaded. You might faint if this lightheaded feeling persists. Vertigo and whiplash are often linked to each other. The issues with aligning the neck can cause imbalance. This, in result, causes dizziness unrelated to inner ear issues. This off-balance leads to vertigo.
4. Headaches
One of the long-term effects of whiplash injury is headaches. These headaches can start at the base of your neck and creep up to your forehead and back as well. This can also trigger migraines. The headache can persist for a long time and may be accompanied by weakness, problems in speaking, confusion, nausea, etc.
“Headache was one of the symptoms that hindered whiplash injury patients during long-term follow-up. Headaches following whiplash injuries were occipital, frontal, or generalised, usually of muscular contraction type and often associated with greater occipital neuralgia.”
El-Sallakh Sameh et al.
5. Spinal Disc Damage
This is one of the most serious long-term effects of whiplash injury. It can cause discs in the spine to wear out or break. What happens is that the whiplash tears muscles and causes neck bones to go out of place. In some cases, the issues of the disc, such as slight pain in the upper and lower neck, were already there. Whiplash just aggravates the issue.
Discs in the spine act as shock absorbers. Their damage can leave your spine vulnerable to damage even in everyday tasks.
Conclusion:
Long-term effects of whiplash injury can be debilitating. Thus, you should visit medical professionals at the earliest. At Concise Medico, we get you the help you need. Our rehabilitation services can support your healing while providing comfort.
To get help with whiplash, contact us now.
FAQs
Whiplash-associated disorder (whiplash) refers to a wide range of neck injuries. These injuries are caused by abrupt neck extension that results in distortion. Its occurrence can be attributed to multiple reasons. Car accidents, falls, sports accidents or physical abuse are some of these. Whiplash is usually cured in weeks. The treatment plans should cater to physical and mental injuries. Medicines (for pain), exercise and physical therapies such as massage therapy are effective for physical injuries. Meanwhile, mental injuries can benefit from talk therapies. So, how long should whiplash last? In some cases, it does not heal for months or maybe years. Long-term effects of whiplash injury detrimentally affect the quality of life. Here is s deep insight into its details.
Learn more about Major Mental Health Concerns Regarding Whiplash Injuries.
Long-term whiplash injury symptoms
From the initial symptoms, it is hard to predict recovery. Some of the signs that can be long-term whiplash injury symptoms in the long run include:
- Spreading of pain to the arms
- Very severe neck pain
- Higher lack of mobility
Long-term whiplash injury symptoms vs normal whiplash symptoms
In comparison to normal whiplash, these symptoms can appear something like the following.
A general rule to predict long-term side effects of whiplash would be that symptoms at the start of injury are intense. They also spread rapidly.
Case study:
In a public hospital in Sweden, a study was carried out in 2014 after 5 years of whiplash injury. 186 patients who were between 18-64 years old answered the questionnaire. 41% of them reported fatigue, 39% had poor memory, while 37% reported headaches. 35% of the patients were not able to carry the workload that they could carry previously. Only 39% of the patients were satisfied with their physical health, while 60% were satisfied with their mental health. Thus, the long-term effects of whiplash injury were recorded in most of the cases.
Factors increasing the risk of long-term whiplash effects
Long-term effects of whiplash injury are increased risk of happening in case of these factors:
- A past whiplash injury, which has a higher probability in case it was left untreated
- Severe inflammatory response
- Any spinal fracture near the neck
- Lack of treatment after whiplash
- Reinjury during the healing process
- Old age
- Already existing pain in the back or neck
What leads to the long-term effects of whiplash injury
Long-term effects of whiplash injury can appear due to a number of factors. They are described in detail below.
1. Instability and alignment issues of the neck
There is a region of your backbone in your neck that provides stability. It is called the cervical spine. In this region, seven small bones are assembled. These bones are labelled C1 to C7 (C stands for cervical). C1 is the topmost bone that is right under the skull. The bone at the bottom is C7. It is located right before the upper back.
Your head moves because of these bones, and they also shield your spinal cord, which is in charge of sending instructions from your brain to the rest of your body.
The top (C1 and C2) and bottom (C6 and C7) bones become locked when the neck snaps abruptly in a whiplash injury. This makes the middle bones (C3–C5) move around too much to make up for it. This leads to instability and pain. The muscles also become tight as a result. Neck instability can further impact the following:
Nerve issues
Your neck has nerves that go from your spinal cord to your arms and hands. If the bones are out of place, they can press on these nerves. This can cause:
- Pain
- Tingling
- Numbness in your arms and hands
Brain signals
The top part of your neck (C1 and C2) helps your brain send and receive signals. If those bones are unstable, those brain signals can get mixed up. You might notice:
- Blurry vision
- Trouble focusing
- Problems with balance or coordination
Blood flow
Important blood vessels run through your neck to bring oxygen to your brain. If your neck is unstable, it might press on these vessels. This can reduce blood flow, causing:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Tiredness (fatigue)
All of these issues contribute to the long-term effects of whiplash injury.
2. Further problems in blood flow
Your brain needs a constant blood flow to function properly. This happens due to oxygen and nutrients to cells are dependent on blood flow. Normally, the body sends more blood to the region of the brain that is working more. This is called neurovascular coupling. Whiplash disrupts this process. As a result, some regions of the brain do not get enough blood supply of blood. This leads to:
- Chronic pain
- Feeling slow and having brain fog
- Fatigue
- Concentration problems
Thus, issues in blood flow lead to long-term effects of whiplash injury.
3. Balance issues of the nervous system
ANS, or the autonomic nervous system, controls automatic processes. These functions include:
- Breathing
- Digestion
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
ANS has two parts:
- The sympathetic system is the part that puts your body in fight or flight mode. This means you are alert and stressed.
- The parasympathetic nervous system is the part that puts your body in rest mode. This means you are calm and relaxed because of it.
After the whiplash, the sympathetic system can stay on for a long time. The brain does not realise you are not in danger anymore, leading to long-term effects of whiplash injury.
It may have the following effects:
- Poor sleep
- Problems in digestion
- Mood swings/ anxiety
- Feeling of being tired
- Fast heartbeat
Get an insight into how whiplash and sleep are related.
4. Further Balance and focus issues
Your body uses the following systems for focus and balance:
- Your inner ears (called the vestibular system)
- Your eyes (vision)
- Your body sensors (called proprioception and it tells you where you are in space)
Your neck connects these systems. It transmits crucial information from the brain to these systems and vice versa. Whiplash leads to damage to these nerves. Incorrect information is transmitted, and the brain does not respond correctly. For instance, the data on your movement and position can be wrong. As a result, the following occurs:
- Blurry or double vision
- Sensitivity to light
- Strain on eyes
- Issues in reading and focus
- Feeling off balance
- Spinning feeling or dizziness
Resultantly, long-term effects of whiplash injury occur.
5. Problems with breathing
Another effect of this injury can be observed on the nerves located in the spine or the neck. These are the nerves that control the breathing muscles. They also control the lungs. Their getting pinched or damaged as a result can lead to the following symptoms, causing long-term effects of whiplash injury:
- Shortness of breath
- Failure to take a deep breath
- Disturbance in the heartbeat
- Fast or shallow breathing
- Anxiousness
Long-term effects of whiplash injury
If left untreated for a long time, the long-term effects of whiplash might worsen. This might make you think about how long should whiplash last, when should I be worried. The answer to this is if the injury lasts beyond a few weeks, inform your doctor.
Learn more about whiplash recovery time here.
Long-term effects of whiplash injury are not uncommon. Around 25-40% of the patients report the symptoms persisting for over a year. If you are wondering what are the long-term effects of whiplash, here they are.
1. Severe pain in the neck and shoulders
Whiplash injury causes muscles, small joints, ligaments, tendons, etc., to get hurt. If not treated properly, this can result in long-term pain in the entire area. When whiplash injuries are left untreated, many people continue to experience neck pain years later. Out of a hundred people, 3 or 4 feel the pain so severely that they cannot go to work.
2. Issues with mobility
Apart from pain, whiplash can also cause swelling and inflammation in neck muscles. This can make it very hard to turn the neck or the head. Daily tasks become a huge hassle due to this. Neck pain can also result in the following:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Back pains
3. Vertigo
Long-term effects of whiplash injury also include vertigo. It causes a spinning feeling in a still environment that can cause you to be extremely lightheaded. You might faint if this lightheaded feeling persists. Vertigo and whiplash are often linked to each other. The issues with aligning the neck can cause imbalance. This, in result, causes dizziness unrelated to inner ear issues. This off-balance leads to vertigo.
4. Headaches
One of the long-term effects of whiplash injury is headaches. These headaches can start at the base of your neck and creep up to your forehead and back as well. This can also trigger migraines. The headache can persist for a long time and may be accompanied by weakness, problems in speaking, confusion, nausea, etc.
“Headache was one of the symptoms that hindered whiplash injury patients during long-term follow-up. Headaches following whiplash injuries were occipital, frontal, or generalised, usually of muscular contraction type and often associated with greater occipital neuralgia.”
El-Sallakh Sameh et al.
5. Spinal Disc Damage
This is one of the most serious long-term effects of whiplash injury. It can cause discs in the spine to wear out or break. What happens is that the whiplash tears muscles and causes neck bones to go out of place. In some cases, the issues of the disc, such as slight pain in the upper and lower neck, were already there. Whiplash just aggravates the issue.
Discs in the spine act as shock absorbers. Their damage can leave your spine vulnerable to damage even in everyday tasks.
Conclusion:
Long-term effects of whiplash injury can be debilitating. Thus, you should visit medical professionals at the earliest. At Concise Medico, we get you the help you need. Our rehabilitation services can support your healing while providing comfort.
To get help with whiplash, contact us now.
