What whiplash actually is
Whiplash describes an injury mechanism rather than a single diagnosis: the head is thrown rapidly in one direction and then the other, faster than the neck’s muscles can control. The tissues that take the load are the small joints at the back of the neck, the ligaments and joint capsules, and the deep muscles that normally stabilise each segment.
It does not take a dramatic crash. Low-speed impacts produce genuine whiplash injuries routinely, which is why “the car was barely damaged” is not reassurance about your neck.
What people notice
- Neck pain and stiffness, often worse the day after than on the day
- Headache, typically starting at the base of the skull
- Pain across the shoulders and between the shoulder blades
- Reduced movement, particularly turning to check a blind spot
- Dizziness, or a sense of things not quite settling
- Jaw pain, which frequently accompanies neck trauma
- Pins and needles or weakness into an arm
Get urgent medical assessment if
You have severe or worsening headache, progressive weakness in an arm or leg, difficulty swallowing or speaking, significant visual change, or you lost consciousness at the time. These need an emergency department, not a chiropractic appointment.
How we assess it
A whiplash examination has to establish two things: what was injured, and whether anything present rules out manual treatment. That means a careful history of the mechanism, neurological and orthopaedic testing, and a segment-by-segment assessment of how the neck is moving now.
Where segmental movement is the clinical question, we have digital motion study X-ray on-site. A standard film shows the neck held still; a motion study shows it moving, which is what matters when you are looking for restriction or instability after trauma.
What care might involve
The current evidence does not favour prolonged rest and immobilisation. Graded movement, restored early and progressed sensibly, produces better outcomes than a collar and a fortnight on the couch.
- Gentle, technique-appropriate adjustment where the examination supports it: low-force approaches are often the right call in an irritable neck
- Soft tissue work to the guarding musculature
- Cold laser therapy in the irritable phase
- Rehabilitation for the deep neck stabilisers, which are reliably affected and do not recover on their own
Claims and paperwork
Where the accident is covered by a compulsory third party claim, treatment is generally claimable. If it happened at work, we are a registered WorkCover Queensland provider, and we are also a Department of Veterans’ Affairs provider. Mention it when you book and Aoife will sort out the paperwork.
Related
See also car accident injuries, neck pain, headache and migraine and TMJ pain.