When you hear about whiplash, you immediately think about the trauma from a rear-end car collision. In reality, whiplash is an injury that affects the upper part of the spine and is often reported also by those who practice contact sports, such as football, rugby, wrestling, kick boxing and martial arts.
The trauma
The trauma arises from the distortion of the cervical spine, i.e. the most mobile part of the vertebral column which, in addition to supporting, stabilizing and supporting the head, while allowing it to move, protects the structures that pass through it, such as the spinal cord and artery vertebral.
Trauma to the cervical spine can occur whenever there is excessive extension followed by excessive flexion of the head, sometimes associated with torsion, which can exceed the physiological limits of mobility of the cervical spine, as it classically happens when a tampon occurs when stopped at the red light.
Health goal: here’s how to learn how to regenerate our body
by Paola Emilia Cicerone
Pain comes later
The mechanism recalls the action exerted by a whiplash and can cause multiple negative effects on the muscular, osteoarticular and nerve structures of the cervical compartment. This is why even if nothing serious seems to have happened after the event just happened, whiplash can generate sprains and strains in the ligaments and muscles of the spine in the cervical region with consequent onset of neck pain and headache.
Also dizziness and tinnitus
Dysfunctions of the temporomandibular joint resulting from whiplash are also not uncommon and dizziness and tinnitus can also appear a few days after the event. Immediately after the trauma it is important to go to the emergency room to rule out serious injuries to the cervical spine. Once serious trauma has been excluded, the diagnosis is made, based on the anamnesis (therefore on the description of the traumatic event), on the recognition of the associated symptoms and on the possible execution of instrumental tests such as x-ray of the cervical spine, computerized axial tomography (CT ) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), if requested by the specialist.
How to deal with the problem
“Whiplash is treated through cervical immobilization (also through the use of a cervical collar), rest and the intake of painkillers, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs in the acute phase – he explains Stefano Masiero, Director of the Neurorehabilitation Unit of the hospital-University of Padua – at a later time, depending on the severity of the trauma and the symptoms reported, physiotherapy sessions will be performed to recover the full range of motion of the neck, tone the muscles and speed up the process of healing “.
Smartworking, how to avoid back pain and save your sight
by Irma D’Aria
Pharmacological treatment
As regards specifically the treatment usually prescribed in the case of whiplash, Masiero specifies: “The most common symptom following a low-level whiplash stroke is muscle contracture which is responsible for the pain and stiffness of the neck. reason, the first choice drugs are muscle relaxants taken orally if the symptoms are not severe or intramuscular in case of severe contracture. The combination with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs may also be useful to manage pain in the acute phase “.
The collar
As for the collar that is so often worn by those who suffer from a tamponade, the expert specifies: “It is often applied in the phase immediately following the trauma and exerts a supportive action that protects the cervical tract from both incongruous movements and stresses of other type. If the whiplash did not cause severe trauma, the collar can be worn for two to three days. “
No to prolonged immobilization
Prolonged immobilization of the cervical spine is in fact contraindicated as it affects the correct activation of the cervical muscles and can cause a delay in healing times. “In any case, the correct prescription of the therapy to be followed after a cervical trauma should pass through a specialist evaluation, able to recognize the severity of the trauma and establish an adequate rehabilitation program” explains Masiero.
Fitness. How, when and why to train online
by Laura Taccani
Why shouldn’t it be underestimated
It is important not to underestimate the trauma that has just occurred because whiplash can generate a symptomatic procession affecting the cranio-mandibular district characterized by: pain in the chewing muscles, limitation of movements or “lock” of the jaw, limitation of the maximum opening of the mouth, pain radiating to the face, neck or shoulders, joint “clicks”, sometimes symptomatic, joint creaking, sudden change of the dental occlusion, headache, dizziness, hearing difficulties and ear pain.
Don’t underestimate the trauma
Trauma should not be underestimated even if it happens in sports, as the specialist explains: “Even if whiplash occurs due to a sports injury, the treatment is always conservative and is implemented through cervical immobilization in the acute, patient education in order to reassure him and make him participate in the treatment, physiotherapy and the possible use of drugs. Also in this case the exercises, carried out first under the supervision of the physiotherapist and then independently, have the aim of improve the muscle strength and functionality of the neck and restore the correct kinematics, in order to prevent a chronicization of the disorder “.
Children at school: what if the backpack is too heavy
of Deborah Amery
The disorder can last over time
Even if the trauma suffered has not been underestimated and all the therapies prescribed in some patients are carefully followed, even months after the whiplash stroke, some aftermath may remain, even important, as Masiero explains: “It is not uncommon for trauma to be associated with persistence of pain for a long time. Studies carried out in recent years indicate that the cause of this pain can also be attributed to changes in the pain processing system that resides in our nervous system. The nervous system acts as an alarm system, which, if it works well, it is activated only in the presence of a stimulus that signals that something is wrong “.
Pain does not mean tissue damage
However, over time, pain can arise even in the presence of very light stimuli, such as touching or moving the neck, or it can appear spontaneously. “In this case, therefore, pain is no longer a sign of damage to a tissue, but the nervous system itself has become too sensitive due to prolonged activation due to muscle contracture and tension,” explains Masiero.
Cervical dystonia, misdiagnosis for one in two patients
by Dario Rubino
