What is whiplash?

It is common for someone who has been involved in a rear-end car accident to complain of aches and pains in and around their neck. It is estimated that this happens to one or more passengers in up to 20% of car crashes. In many cases, the pain is caused by a "whiplash-like" movement of the neck as a result of the sudden impact of a collision.

What is the whiplash motion?
The whiplash motion starts at the time of impact, with the head being thrown backwards whilst the body goes forwards. This movement is known as hyperextension because the muscles and ligaments of the joint get excessively straightened, often suffering damage.

The head may then get thrown forwards, typically if brakes have been applied harshly or the car has come to a sudden stop against another vehicle. This forwards movement is called hyperflexion and the neck joint over-bends, sometimes causing the chin to touch the chest. This can cause further damage to the neck.

It takes a very short amount of time for a whiplash injury to occur in a car accident. The processes of hyperextension and hyperflexion occur in approximately 1/10th of a second and are followed just 1/10th of a second later by a return to the typical neck position. It has been discovered that even in a low speed car accident of 8 mph, the head will move up to 18 inches in an extremely short period.

During the accident, the energy that comes from the changing velocity of the cars (with the striking car decelerating and the struck car accelerating) is transferred into the bodies of the occupants. This force creates the very fast movement with which we associate a whiplash-type injury.

However, it is extremely rare for bones in the neck to be damaged when a whiplash movement occurs. It is normally the neck muscles, joints and ligaments which suffer the effects of the whiplash-type injury and cause discomfort. This is known as soft tissue damage.

What are Whiplash-Associated Disorders?
The founder of the term "whiplash" commented that people misunderstood the term and it was only meant to describe the snapping action of the neck, rather than the neck injury itself. A study, known as the Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WADs), which looked into the whiplash motion and the resulting injuries, gave this definition to clarify the issue:

"Whiplash is an acceleration-deceleration mechanism of energy transfer to the neck. It may result from rear end or side-impact motor vehicle collisions, but can also occur during diving and other mishaps. The impact may result in bony or soft-tissue injuries (whiplash injury), this in turn may lead to a variety of clinical manifestations (Whiplash-Associated Disorders)."

Whiplash-Associated Disorders can include a whole range of symptoms, including neck pain, restricted neck movement, shoulder pain, tingling or heaviness in the arms, dizziness, and tinnitus. Read more about the symptoms of whiplash neck injuries.

How to get compensation
Whiplash-Associated Disorders are suffered by thousands of people in the UK, many of whom have been injured in car accidents that were no fault of their own. If you have suffered a whiplash neck injury that was caused by someone else, we are here to help.

We are experts in Whiplash-Associated Disorders and provide our customers with the very best representation for their personal injury claim. Our guaranteed cost-free service means that claiming whiplash compensation is easy and there is no bill to worry about, no matter what the outcome of your case.

As well as not having to pay out a thing, when you make an accident claim through YouClaim you can keep 100% of any compensation awarded. That's right; unlike a lot of other personal injury claim firms we won't deduct a single penny from your damages.

So get in touch with us today to find out how our no win, no fee personal injury claim service can help you. You can chat online and in confidence to one of our expert claims advisors, you can request a call back and we'll ring you at a time more convenient for yourself, or you can pick up the phone and call us any time of the day or night on 0800 10 757 95.

YouClaim really are the whiplash claim specialists and we're waiting to help you get compensation right now.