Whiplash Can Get Worse, Get Help Managing the Pain

Whiplash is a common car accident-related injury. Symptoms don’t always appear immediately, but without treatment, they can worsen, leading to neck pain, stiffness, or mobility issues. Discover simple tips for healing faster.

Whiplash is one of the most common car-accident-related injuries. It typically occurs during rear-end collisions, when the impact causes your head to snap back and forth, like a whip, straining the muscles and other soft tissues in your neck.

At Palm Beach Pain Institute in Delray Beach, Florida, board-certified pain management physician Marcie Merson, MD, regularly treats people with whiplash injuries.

This article explores why whiplash symptoms often worsen without treatment and what to do if you experience this type of injury.

Why whiplash symptoms often worsen

Whiplash typically isn’t as severe as some other car accident injuries, such as broken bones or herniated discs, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it seriously.

Immediately after an accident, your body releases hormones, such as adrenaline. Adrenaline helps you feel more alert so you can respond in stressful moments, but it can also mask common whiplash symptoms, including:

Neck pain and stiffness
Headaches
Reduced range of motion
Shoulder pain
Upper back pain
Numbness or tingling that extends into the arms and hands

With adrenaline pumping, you may not notice any of these symptoms until several hours or days after your accident.

Seeking treatment soon after a car accident may support healing, so if you’re involved in one, we recommend visiting us as soon as possible to lower the risk of complications.

Do not ignore whiplash symptoms

After a car accident, it can be tempting to wait and see how you feel after a day or two. Many people think rest and over-the-counter pain medication will ease their pain and inflammation, especially if the crash occurred at low speeds and didn’t result in any significant damage.

The problem with that approach is that whiplash symptoms don’t always appear right away. Without professional care, these injuries can result in ongoing pain, muscle tension, and headaches.

After a comprehensive physical exam and diagnostic imaging, we can determine whether your symptoms are due to whiplash or other related injuries.

Treatment can help you feel better

If we determine that you have whiplash, we make personalized treatment recommendations. Whenever possible, we take a conservative, minimally invasive approach. That may include:

Physical therapy
Osteopathic manual therapy (OMT)
Medication management
Activity changes
Targeted stretches and strengthening exercises

For some people, however, neck pain may continue despite conservative treatment. Whiplash can sometimes irritate or injure the cervical facet joints, the small joints located along the back of the neck that help provide stability and allow the spine to move. When these joints are a suspected source of ongoing pain, Dr. Merson may recommend an interventional pain management procedure.

Cervical medial branch blocks

Cervical medial branch blocks, also called facet joint nerve blocks, target the small medial branch nerves that carry pain signals from the cervical facet joints. During the procedure, a small amount of local anesthetic is carefully placed near the targeted nerves.

If you experience significant temporary pain relief after the injection, it can help confirm that one or more facet joints are contributing to your neck pain. Depending on your response, a medial branch block may also help determine whether you could benefit from a longer-lasting treatment called radiofrequency ablation.

Radiofrequency ablation

If cervical medial branch blocks confirm that the facet joints are a significant source of your pain, Dr. Merson may recommend radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This minimally invasive procedure uses controlled radiofrequency energy to treat the medial branch nerves responsible for transmitting pain signals from the affected facet joints.

By interrupting these pain signals, radiofrequency ablation can provide longer-lasting relief for appropriately selected patients with chronic facet-related neck pain. The nerves can eventually regenerate, so the effects aren't necessarily permanent, but the procedure may help reduce pain and make it easier to return to daily activities, exercise, and physical therapy.

Most whiplash injuries improve with conservative care, and not everyone needs an interventional procedure. Dr. Merson develops an individualized treatment plan based on the source of your pain, how long your symptoms have lasted, and how you have responded to previous treatments.

We can help you recover from a whiplash injury

Whiplash injuries can make everyday movements such as looking side to side or up and down painful. The good news is that professional pain management can help.