Whiplash Anatomy in Vacaville

When your body experiences trauma, your neck is one of the most vulnerable areas. Whiplash, a hard and sudden forward-backward motion of the neck, can cause pain and may last even after the injuries have healed. Your Vacaville chiropractor wants to help you understand why your neck is so sore, so you should at least know the anatomy that is involved.

Symptoms of Whiplash in Vacaville

When you have whiplash, you have an idea on what caused it. However, the symptoms won't show up until later. It may take up to 2 hours after a car accident or injury that the symptoms will show, and it will start mildly then it gradually becomes worse. There are also instances that symptoms may take days, weeks, or even months after an injury to show.

The main symptom of whiplash is neck or upper back pain.

Other symptoms may include the following:

• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Numbness and/or tingling
• Shoulder and/or arm pain
• Stiffness and/or tenderness

Cervical spine: The neck

Whiplash can be a complicated diagnosis since the doctor will have to figure out which exact parts of the spine have been affected. The cervical spine also has a lot of complex parts, wherein they all have technical terms for your neck. Your cervical spine starts at the base of your skull. It has seven small vertebrae and doctors label it from C1 to C7, wherein the 'C' stands for cervical. The numbers 1 to 7 indicate the vertebrae level. C1 is closest to the skull, while C7 is near the chest.

There are fibrous shock-absorbing pads in between each vertebra called the intervertebral discs. Each disc consists of a tire-like outer band and a gel-like inner substance. The inner part is called the nucleus pulposus while the outer band is called the annulus fibrosus.

Apart from the bones and discs, your cervical spine also has an upper region of the spinal cord, 32 muscles for strength, eight nerve roots, numerous ligaments, and an elaborate system of arteries and veins. Even though it is just a small area, your neck still has a lot of components. This means that whiplash can injure a lot of important parts.

Flexibility and Strength

The best thing about the cervical spine is that it can support the full weight of your head, which weighs about 8 pounds, yet no other region of the spine has such freedom of movement. It is possible for your head to move freely in every direction, and it's all thanks to the cervical spine. It can do 90° of backward motion, 90° of forwarding motion, 180° of side-to-side motion, and an almost 120° of tilt to either shoulder.

Unfortunately, such flexibility can also make the neck vulnerable to pain and injury like in whiplash. In whiplash, the 15 pound-weight is dramatically tossed frontwards then backwards. This is the reason why wearing seatbelts properly is important and make sure that airbags are also functioning well.

If you have recurring neck pain and you suspect that it is whiplash, then don't think twice about seeking help from Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine in Vacaville, CA. You can setup an appointment by dialing (707) 474-5688 so get in touch with us and get yourself treated today!