WHIPLASH
Whiplash hurls your head violently backward and forward, injuring your neck. This is common occurs in car accidents when the car stops short or gets hit from an unexpected direction.

Whiplash can cause injury to intervertebral joints, discs, and ligaments, cervical muscles, and nerves. Whiplash is often encountered along with concussions and more serious injury. The effects of whiplash can be short term or life long, and can leave the neck forever vulnerable to injury. The injury can also extend to shoulders and arms.

Whiplash leads to long-term disability in 10% of people injured in car accidents. Approximately 1,000,000 people are exposed to whiplash injury in the U.S. every year. Nearly 25% of these cases result in chronic pain and disability. 1 in 7 whiplash victims will still have significant pain more than 3 years after the accident.

TREATMENT
If you were taken from the accident in an ambulance to a hospital you were probably put in a hard neck brace on a back board- as a preventive measure to avoid more serious injury to your neck. The courses of treatment will vary depending on the extent of your injury and if you have injury to intervertebral joints, discs, and ligaments, cervical muscles, or nerve roots: Physical therapy consisting of heat, cold, traction, cervical collar, trigger point therapy, ultrasound, massage, and neck exercises. Massage coupled with Chiropractic treatment to the effected area increases the rate of recovery to regain muscle flexibility.

BACK INJURY
Car accidents place enormous strains on the body. The sudden force and deceleration from a car accident may compress or damage the back. The complicated bones and discs that form the spine can be seriously damaged. Car accidents may cause minor to severe injury to the back.

Severe injuries to the back include: herniated or slipped discs, ruptured discs or spinal/ vertebral fractures. An added problem is that the spinal cord travels through the back. The spinal cord transmits signals for movement and pain through the body, so spinal cord injuries can cause severe pain and may require therapy to treat. More severe injuries of the spinal cord can lead to paralyzation or paraplegia.

Less severe injuries include sprain or strain to the musculature. If you experience such an injury, you realize how much you rely on your back to accomplish every day tasks. Sprains and strains left untreated can lead to more serious injury to the back.

RECOVERY
These injuries may have severe consequence for work and everyday life. If you have suffered from a severe back injury, you may require years of therapy and treatment. You may not be able to do certain everyday activities.