Whiplash Symptoms Car Accidents include:
• Neck pain or neck pain that travels down the arm (radiculopathy)
• Headaches
• Low back pain (LBP)
• Jaw pain
• Dizziness
The most common motor vehicle accident whiplash symptom is neck pain. The pain often spreads into the upper back, between the shoulder blades, or down the arm. Neck pain that goes down the arm is called radiculopathy.
Low back pain (LBP) can occur as a result of a whiplash injury. The Insurance Research Council reports that LBP occurs in 39 per cent of whiplash patients. Some studies found LBP to be present in 57 per cent of rear-impact collisions in which injuries were reported and 71 per cent of side-impact collisions.
Jaw pain as a result of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) injury can also cause painful headaches. The TMJ is formed by the bone of the mandible (lower jaw) connecting to the temporal bone at the side of the skull. The TMJ is a hinge joint that allows the jaw to open and close and to move forward, back, and sideways. Pain in this joint in called temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).
Dizziness is quite common with a sense of lost balance being reported. It may be caused by an injury to the joints of the neck called facet or zygapophyseal joints. When dizziness is reported, it should be distinguished from vertigo (also known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which results from an injury to the inner ear.
Other symptoms include: shoulder pain; numbness or tingling in the arms, hands, legs or feet; facial pain, fatigue, confusion, poor concentration, irritability, difficulty sleeping, forgetfulness, visual problems, and mood disorders.
It is not uncommon to have a delay in your symptoms. It is actually more common to have a 24 to 72 hour delay as opposed to immediate symptoms due to the time it takes inflammation to develop. Disc injuries may take even longer to manifest themselves.
Little or no car damage does not mean that you were not injured. In fact, more than half of all whiplash injuries occur where there was little or no damage to one or both of the vehicles involved. When we see visible damage to a car, it means that the car has absorbed much of that force and less force is transmitted to the occupant. On the other hand, if there is little or no damage to the car, the force is not absorbed but transferred to the driver or passengers, potentially resulting in greater injury.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin McCormick Law Office attorneys get the best results in car accidents with whiplash symptoms when documented in the medical records. Expert opinion is necessary to prove a permanent injury.
