Whiplash Injury
How big is this problem?
- About 3,000,000 Americans are injured every year.
- About 1,500,000 will develop chronic pain. About 300,000 people will become disabled; usually due to pain.
- Nearly half of all chronic neck pain in America is due to car crashes and most of these crashes are LOSRIC.
- About 9% of all Americans suffer from chronic pain due to LOSRIC.
Signs and symptoms
People who experience whiplash may develop one or more of the following symptoms, usually within the first two weeks after the accident (but symptoms may take up to 6 months to develop):- Neck pain and stiffness
- Headaches
- Pain in the shoulder or between the shoulder blades
- Low back pain
- Pain or numbness in the arm and/or hand
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears or blurred vision
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering
- Irritability, sleep disturbances, fatigue
Factors that will increase your risk of injury
- Being struck from behind
- Not being aware of the impending crash
- Having your head turned or in a poor position at the time of impact
- A prior injury
- Prior headaches
- Prior neck pain
- No head restraint or poor head restraint position
- Arthritis
- Advanced age
- Disc disease
- Female
- Non-failure of your seat
- Use of your seat belt/shoulder harness*
Whiplash Prevention
Obviously, there is little you can do to avoid a motor vehicle crash, especially from being rear ended. Having a properly adjusted head restraint, however, can be the most important thing you to prevent a whiplash injury.What is the proper position of your head restraint?
Optimally, the head restraint should be adjusted so that the backset distance (the distance between the back of your head and the head restraint) is minimized (ideally 2 inches or less) and so that the top of the head restraint is at least as high as the top of the head.
A major influence on backset, of course, is posture. Several investigations over the years have shown that most Americans do not properly adjust their head restraint, and women, who have been shown to carry twice the risk of injury in such crashes as men, are less likely to properly adjust their head restraints. This simple act could greatly decrease the chances of injury in a rear impact crash.
Did You Know?
- More than 3 million Americans are injured in Cervical Acceleration/Deceleration (Whiplash) crashes each year.
- The reported risk of injury in a low speed rear impact crash (LOSRIC) is 35-68%.
- Most injuries occur at crash speeds below 12 mph.
- Most cars can withstand 8-12 mph impacts without structural damage
- More than half of all LOSRIC injuries occur without vehicle damage.
- In fact, there is no correlation between vehicle damage and outcome!
- Studies have suggested that with your head restraint set to its lowest position, injury is even more likely than would be the case if no head restraint was present. So, it is extremely important to be sure your head restraint is optimally adjusted every time you get in a car.