subject: What Is Your Prognosis If You Have Been Diagnosed With A Whiplash Injury? [print this page] If you have been unfortunate enough to have sustained a whiplash injury as a result of a road traffic accident you may be feeling anxious about how long it is going to take you to recover from your whiplash injury. You may be starting to realise that an injury such as the one you are suffering from can have a significant impact on your life : you may be signed off work or may be required to take time off work, often unpaid, to attend medical appointments; you may be struggling with the physical demands of looking after your young children; or you may be feeling depressed because of your injuries. All of these things can have a serious effect on your day to day life and you may be eager to know what your prognosis is and how long it is likely to take you to make a full recovery. This article seeks to answer these questions by looking at how a whiplash injury is actually caused, what treatment methods are commonly used to treat a whiplash injury and how long people commonly take to make a full recovery from a whiplash injury.
A whiplash injury is caused when your head and neck are suddenly and forcefully thrown back and forth causing the soft-tissue and ligaments in your neck to be stretched beyond their normal range of movement. This impact is usually caused during a road traffic accident. Symptoms of a whiplash injury may not be immediately apparent but, when they do appear, you should seek immediate medical attention from your GP or local A&E department. Symptoms may include pain and stiffness in your neck, restricted movements, headaches, nausea and pins and needles.
If you are diagnosed with a whiplash injury you are likely to be advised to take painkillers, carry out gentle mobility exercises and may even undergo a course of physiotherapy. Surgical collars, though once heavily associated with whiplash injuries, are rarely prescribed these days as they are thought to hinder recovery rather than help it.
Most people that suffer a whiplash injury make a full recovery, usually with the help of the treatment methods described above, within 1-2 years of the accident and, more commonly, within a few months of the accident. In rare cases, complications can arise from a whiplash injury which leaves the sufferer experiencing some level of pain and/or discomfort on a long term basis.
With the right treatment it is possible to make a full recovery from your whiplash injury within a few months of the accident. As soon as you become aware that you may be suffering from a whiplash injury you should seek medical advice from your GP or local Accident & Emergency department who will be able to advise you on the best course of treatment which will enable you to have as good a prognosis as possible.
