Signs and symptoms of whiplash injury
Even though a whiplash injury may not be apparent straightaway, most symptoms will arise within 48 to 72 hours of an accident occurring. Pain usually develops the following day as inflammation and bruising to the soft tissues of the neck area can take a while to develop. Read an overview of whiplash injury.
Whiplash injury can usually be recognised by physical signs with neck and shoulder pain and headaches as the most common. However, some symptoms can alter your mood.
Many people will recover within a few weeks but others that suffer more serious whiplash injuries may be left with recurring symptoms. Read more about diagnosis and prognosis of whiplash injury.
There are various methods that can be used to treat whiplash injury from prescriptive medicine combined with mobility exercises to surgery in the most extreme cases. Read more about treatments for whiplash injury.
Physical symptoms
- Neck pain and stiffness – present in almost 100% of cases. The pain is often the result of muscle spasms and can extend up to the head and down through the shoulders
- Interscapular pain – suffered between the shoulder blades and may extend down the arms
- Lower back pain – especially common to the lumbar parts of the spinal column
- Numbness – muscular tension can pull the vertebrae of your neck closer together. This can lead to disc degeneration or pinched nerves and cause numbness or tingling in the arms and hands
- Paraesthesia to the upper body – a sensation of burning, prickling, tingling, or creeping on the skin
- Headaches – occur in more than 80% of cases and are usually in the suboccipital region. The suboccipital is the dorsal branch of the first cervical nerve, sending branches to various muscles of the head.
- Vertigo – dizziness can be caused by a distorted head movement and unbalanced head position sending distorted sensations from the balance centres of the inner ear to the balance centres of your brain
- Vestibular complaints – damage to the sensory system located in the inner ear that allows us to maintain balance and body orientation
- Auditory complaints – ringing in the ears and tinnitus
- Visual complaints – blurred or distorted vision
- Dysphagia – difficulty or inability to swallow
Psychological symptoms
- Poor concentration and memory loss – a reduced sense of balance, dizziness and niggling pain can mean that clarity of though is difficult
- Fatigue and irritability – this may be a result of sleep disruption caused by pain and discomfort
- Depression – the loss of full mobility and Chronic Whiplash Syndrome which results in ongoing pain and suffering can lead to despair and anxiety.
Making a whiplash injury compensation claim today
If you are suffering from a combination of any of the symptoms highlighted above following an accident then we may be able to help you make a whiplash injury claim.
You can make a compensation claim to recover costs for pain and suffering, loss of earnings through time taken off work and medical costs. We may even be able to arrange top medical care in your area.
Our personal injury solicitors work on a no win no fee basis and we guarantee that you will be protected from costs whether you win or lose your case. You will also receive 100% of the compensation awarded to you.
To find out more about making a whiplash compensation claim simply call our friendly team on 0800 197 32 32.
