Injury Information - Whiplash

Whiplash commonly occurs from car accidents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Rear-end accidents and head-on collisions cause the head to swing or whip into extended positions. The head, which contains the brain and the skull, is a heavy object. When the body is quickly thrusted in a certain direction, the neck and neck muscles and ligaments whip the head around.  This whipping action causes stretching, ripping, and abnormal extension of the neck and spine muscles and ligaments.  Whiplash causes pain throughout the neck and into the shoulders.  

Whiplash has a bad stigma in society.

Whiplash can be a serious and permanent injury.

Learn what’s causing your neck pain.

Luckily for most car accident injury victims, whiplash is not a permanent type of injury.  Neck muscles, just like other muscles throughout the body, repair themselves naturally.  Although it takes a bit longer for ligaments and tendons to be repaired, rest and physical therapy help the injured victim’s pain levels. Over-the-counter pain medications, such as ibuprofen, and prescription medications, such as muscle relaxers, are commonly taken by whiplash victims.  Applications of heat and chiropractic care can also help ease the pain of whiplash. 

We often get telephone calls from personal injury victims immediately after a Bucks County or Mercer County car accident who are experiencing neck pain.  We recommend that car accident victims with neck pain quickly get to an emergency room to be evaluated.  At the emergency room, x-rays will be taken of the injured person’s neck to confirm that there are no broken bones.  The neck will then be examined by an emergency room doctor.   The whiplash victim will be sent home with a prescription for muscle relaxers and pain medication.  We recommend that the whiplash victim follow up with his or her family doctor within two (2) days after the Bucks County, Mercer County or Philadelphia car accident. 

A family doctor will evaluate the whiplash patient and should make another appointment with the whiplash victim within two weeks.  If the neck injury victim’s pain is only caused by whiplash, in most cases the pain and restrictions on range of motion of the neck will improve in the two week period after the Bucks or Mercer County car accident.  If the neck pain and restrictions do not improve after the two to three week period following the car accident, there may be a more serious type of injury in the neck such as a disc bulge or a disc herniation.

If you are suffering from neck pain, including pain from a whiplash injury, after a car accident in Bucks County, PA, you have come to the right place to learn about your personal injuries. In addition to this website, you can find more information about Pennsylvania car accident cases in our free PA car accident book.  We also offer a free information gaining consultation to review your whiplash injury and discuss your options for medical treatment and recovering fair compensation from a careless or reckless driver.