Whiplash InjuryWhiplash is a common occurrence in rear-end car collisions, and it doesn’t have to be a particularly violent crash. Low-speed fender benders can also be a source of long-term health  issues with the spine and neck.

Unfortunately, 80 percent of vehicles on the road today either have improperly adjusted headrests or the headrests have been removed. 

How Whiplash Injuries Occur

The reason this is so critical is that when a car is struck from behind, the seat springs forward in concert with the rest of the car because it’s bolted to the floor. The seat will surge forward against the person’s body, the weight of which will force the seat to bend backward. When the head is not properly supported, it is flung back over the seat. When the seat bends to the farthest  point that it will go, it snaps forward, propelling the person’s torso forward, past the head. In essence, the head is forced to catch up with the rest of the body and is then whipped forward.

When the neck and spine are being violently propelled, snapped forward, hyper-extended, hyperflexed— all it what you will—you can imagine it’s not a good thing. Whiplash briefly  turns the spine into an “S” shape—and vertebrae, which are supposed to slide over each other, push against and scrape each other in whiplash situations. All these events can cause tightness and pain in the upper spine, neck, and shoulders due to soft-tissue damage (injury to muscles, ligaments, and tendons), disc damage, nerve impingement, headaches, dizziness, irritability, blurred vision, and sleep disturbance.

Contact A Georgia Injury Attorney After Suffering A Whiplash Injury

If you experience a whiplash injury as a result of being rearended, you owe it to yourself to contact an accident injury attorney to safeguard your rights