Is whiplash really that serious?

Question:

I don't know if that's what's going on with me or not. Last night lying in bed, I woke up and turned my head and got the most intense pain, like someone had turned my neck around or something and it crept up the back of my head, tingling, kind of numb. It was awful! It was hard to go back to sleep because it hurt my head to lay it on the pillow. Today it is still sore, the back of my head and my neck is sore. Is this whiplash? Can you just randomly get whiplash for no apparent reason? I can remember this happening a couple of months ago at work, but not as painful or intense and it made my shoulder jerk up, like I was startled. What should I do? Do I really need to see a doctor or will it go away on it's own? Can anything serious occur if left untreated?

Answers:
I don't think that you suffered whiplash because whiplash usually occurs when the neck violently and quickly is thrust backwards and then returns to position. What you did was pull a muscle which is also very painful but will diminish in time and is not serious like whiplash where you might have spinal injury hiding. I don't want to minimize what happened to you as I know it's troublesome and worries you and in some cases yes you can injure your neck without having a large amount of trauma. If you continue to have problems after a week surely see a doctor but hopefully it's just a muscle or nerve and will get better as time goes on.

Other Answers:
Whiplash is a result of a traumatic incident, such as a car accident.

Go see a chiropractor or physical therapist.

Yes, whiplash can be very serious. It can result in permanant damage in extreme cases if not treated correctly. However, this doesn't sound like it is whiplash. If there was no incident that caused it, it was likely just caused by how you were sleeping. If this persists, you should probably consult your doctor of a chiropractor and ask if there is anything they would recommend. You will probably need to seek advice from someone much more qualified than myself, but to my knowledge you can't get whiplash for no apperent reason. Whiplash is caused by a severe jerk to your neck such as in a car accident. (I have my own opinion on those retarted lawsuits but thats for another time) Most likely you just slept in a weird position all night and your muscles tightened up in that position, so when you tried to move it hurt. It's happened to me twice in 21 years, so I suppose you could make it a while without ever having it happen.

Whiplash is a specific injury caused by overextension of the neck muscles (front to back) usually from an accident or other trauma.

Sounds like you have a common stiff neck. they hurt like a bugger, but will go away on their own. They can be caused from anything from a virus, sleeping funny, or bad posture at the computer.

Alternate ice and a heating pad for relief. Use an OTC pain reliever and something like salonpas or bengay. If it doesn't go away after a week, see a doctor.

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Is whiplash really that serious?

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