Suffering From Whiplash?

You’re headed home in typical Tampa rush hour traffic. People are getting out of work and piling into their cars to get home like everyone else. The light turns red and you stop. Suddenly… another car rear-ends you while sitting at the light. Of course you weren’t expecting this, so your head violently jerks forward and back as your car is pushed several feet into the middle of the intersection.

Dazed. Confused. You slowly get out of your vehicle and look back at the other driver who’s already panicking. Surprisingly, you’re not in any pain right now, but once the shock and adrenaline wear off, you may begin to feel severe neck pain, stiffness, and headaches. That’s called whiplash and it’s serious.

How to Tell If You Have Whiplash

As we said, the warning signs for whiplash probably won’t show themselves right away. The adrenaline rush and shock must first subside before the pain of the injury can show itself. Some of this warning signs – or symptoms – can be:

• Neck pain and stiffness
• Painful neck movement
• Range of motion decreases in the neck
• Headaches
• Shoulder pain and/or tenderness
• Tingling down the arms

Our Pain Experts in Tampa Can Treat Whiplash

Of course our example was a car wreck, but a person can get whiplash from a variety of events such as a sports injury or traumatic accident. You should contact the pain experts at Physician Partners of America if you begin to experience any of the listed symptoms above in addition to any other neck pain after any injury you may have received. Getting a prompt diagnosis – and treatment if whiplash is the case – is vitally important to restoring full mobility of your neck and to eliminate the pain.

Remember, you may not feel the pain right away. Don’t dismiss the fact that the injury occurred and the effects are on the horizon. Better safe than sorry, right? With that in mind, even if you’ve been injured, but don’t think it’s whiplash, let our pain management team here at Physician Partners of America take a look.