Back and Neck Pain From Car Accident

What Are the Symptoms of Whiplash?

Symptoms of whiplash may be delayed for 24 hours or more after the initial trauma. However, people who experience whiplash may develop one or more of the following symptoms, usually within the first few days after the injury:

• Neck pain and stiffness
• Headaches
• Pain in the shoulder or between the shoulder blades
• Low back pain
• Pain or numbness in the arm and/or hand
• Dizziness
• Difficulty concentrating or remembering
• Irritability, sleep disturbances, fatigue

You may not have any symptoms until the day after your injury. Or your symptoms may go away but then return a few days later.

You may have a more serious injury if you have:

• Severe pain in your neck.
• Pain down one or both arms.
• Pain that comes back after being gone for a few days.
• Numbness or tingling in your hands, arms, chest, or legs.
• Weakness in your arms, hands, or legs.
• Inability to move your head.

It takes up to 3 months for the neck to heal, even though most pain may be gone in less time. More severe whiplash may take longer, but it usually improves within 6 to 12 months.

SOURCE:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Academy of Pediatrics (2005). Cervical sprain. In LY Griffin, ed., Essentials of Musculoskeletal Care, 3rd ed., pp. 746-750. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Does my car insurance cover treatment for neck pain or back pain due to a car accident?

Also called Florida No Fault Insurance, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance covers you – regardless of fault (i.e. whether or not you cause the crash) – up to the limits of your policy.

Your PIP will also cover your child, members of your household, certain passengers who lack PIP Insurance as long as they do not own a vehicle. People riding in your vehicle who carry PIP will receive coverage under their own PIP for their injuries, and certain licensed drivers who drive your vehicle with your permission. PIP also covers your child if he or she suffers an injury while riding on a school bus.

PIP coverage protects you while in someone else’s vehicle, as a pedestrian, or bicyclist if you suffer an injury in a crash involving a motor vehicle.

The Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, requires all owner/registrants of a motor vehicle with four wheels or more to carry a minimum of $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 of property damage liability (PDL) if you own a motor vehicle in Florida. Florida law requires you to maintain PIP/PDL insurance continuously throughout the licensing and registration period.

Personal Injury Protection coverage in Florida (also known as PIP) covers reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses when an insured is involved in a covered loss.

Source:

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

At Miami Sports Chiropractic & Yoga Center we follow a treat and release treatment philosophy and encourage a patient’s active participation in their own treatment plan to limit their reliance on chiropractic services to treat their pain.

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