It’s perfectly natural to feel stressed or worried after an unexpected jolt in the car or an unfortunate sports injury. With so much contrasting information about whiplash available online, we thought we’d gather all the information you need in one place. We’ll start with simple definitions and explanations, making sure to put complex terms to one side so you truly understand your options.
In our experience, you can diagnose whiplash with an MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging), which uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create images of the body. This allows you to see everything from soft tissue to bones and joints, and can reveal what’s happened.
Let’s dive into the details!
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash injuries occur when the head, neck, and spine are subjected to rapid back-and-forth motion. Imagine being shaken rapidly with a large amount of force–the head is thrown around on top of the neck. This is why one of the most common symptoms of whiplash is prolonged neck pain.
The problem is that there is a large amount of delicate soft tissue in the neck that needs to be checked in detail. Thanks to the imaging power of high-precision MRI scans, you can find the answers and support you need.
Common Causes of Whiplash
There are a variety of different ways you can sustain a whiplash injury. The key point is that the neck has to be cracked like a whip to cause whiplash. This means that a sudden impact or rapid shaking of the whole body can commonly result in whiplash. Understanding how it occurs can also help rule out whiplash from smaller bumps and knocks that may happen during everyday life.
Car Accidents
Car accidents in which a motor vehicle comes to a sudden unexpected stop are one of the most well-known causes of whiplash. If another driver accidentally hits the rear end of your vehicle, your seatbelt will hold your body in place but your head will jolt forward. The sudden shock and surge of adrenaline that occurs when an accident happens can easily mask the initial damage. Many drivers report not feeling any real discomfort until the following morning.
Sports Injuries
Long-term sports injuries are not limited solely to torn muscles and broken bones. Contact sports like football and rugby can subject the body to strong forces that travel up the neck. While it is always tempting to try and continue, seeking expert advice is always the best approach.
Falls
Suffering a personal injury due to a fall from a height onto a hard surface can place a great deal of strain on the neck. The harder the fall, the more likely a detailed scan will be needed to properly diagnose the extent of the damage. Understanding the full picture is the only way to get the treatment you need to make a full recovery.
Physical Assault
Being struck in the head by an assailant can cause a neck injury that could go undetected. Bruising to the face and physical shock will be far more noticeable than what has happened to the neck, but it’s the neck that takes far longer to heal.
What you need is a proven solution that will allow you to understand the extent of any injuries so you can take the right course of action.
Will Whiplash Show on an MRI?
Taking an MRI scan of the spine allows medical experts to fully understand the extent of any injuries that you may have suffered. If you go to them, how will whiplash show on MRI scans?
MRI creates images of all the major structures (bones, ligaments, muscles, blood vessels, etc.) inside the human body. This provides a doctor with a complete picture of what has happened to the neck and spine after a sudden impact.
Images taken just a few days after the initial injury was sustained can show damage to neck and shoulder muscles, connective ligaments, and even stress fractures (tiny breaks that can be missed on some X-rays). MRI is a highly effective way to diagnose whiplash so that you can seek specialist help with your recovery that will make all the difference.
How an MRI Detects Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash MRI detection is possible because of the detail that MRI scans are able to capture. During the scan, radio waves and magnetic forces are used to create a series of images of the neck.
The magnets force the protons within your body to line up, and the radio waves cause them to spin out of position again. When the radio waves are switched off, the protons re-align, emitting radio signals that can be recorded and used to create pictures. This is completely painless.
Blood vessels (veins and arteries) have different compositions to bones, or soft tissues, for example. There are more protons within fluid-filled areas, so the signals from soft tissues will be stronger. The resulting contrast results in a black-and-white image that presents a complete picture of the craniocervical junction (where your neck and skull join). It’s this part of the body that is damaged when you suffer from whiplash.
The interesting part about the imaging process is that doctors can then see many different types of whiplash injuries with a single scan. Just like you can break a leg in a variety of different ways, you can also suffer whiplash in different ways.
MRI Findings for Different Whiplash Injuries
What does whiplash look like on MRI images? The truth is it depends on the specific nature of the injury. The neck and shoulders are built out of a complex web of tissue and bones, which is why a closer look is always the best approach. Let’s take a look at some of the key issues that doctors can now detect.
Bulging or Herniated Disks
Diagnosing a slipped disc in the neck involves imaging the cervical spine (the first seven discs below the skull). An image will show one or more discs out of their natural alignment, putting pressure on the nerve canal (a thin tube of nerves that runs parallel to the spine). Sometimes, the fluid inside the disc will have visibly leaked out. Doctors will also look at the facet joint (small joints at the rear of each vertebra that connect it with its neighbour), as this can be damaged.
Soft Tissue Damage
Anyone who has recently been in a car accident may well have soft tissue injuries in the neck. These types of injuries rarely show up on a conventional x-ray but are readily seen with MRI. Inflamed tissue and scar tissue will show up as a different colour, often with a mottled look that contrasts strongly with surrounding healthy tissue.
Muscle Injuries
Continual neck pain stiffness is often caused by a muscle tear (partial or total) that causes pain to spread to the surrounding area. An MRI shows the size and extent of the tear, allowing a doctor to grade the injury (say how severe it is). This process can be used to estimate recovery times and then provide guidance on the next steps.
Ligament Sprains
Range of motion can be greatly restricted by painful sprains to the ligaments in the neck. Injured ligaments or ligament sprains may show up as a different colour to healthy ligaments, and can also have an unusual contour (outer surface) that indicates they have experienced significant trauma. They may also appear thickened or disrupted.
Nerve Compression
A nerve damage MRI scan can reveal fluid accumulation that pushes onto the nerves, and it may also highlight displaced discs pushing on the painful nerve. Understanding the precise location of the problem can help with treatment. This is a key thing to remember because nerve pain can often feel like it is coming from somewhere else in the body (referred pain). MRI can help pinpoint exactly where the issue is coming from.
Spinal Stenosis
The bones in the spine are designed to protect the spinal cord (the nerve system’s main hub) from damage. Issues can occur when the space available for the cord is reduced due to spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal.
Doctors diagnosing spinal stenosis with an MRI will look for discs that have bulged out of place or slipped. This type of complication can occur at any point on the spine and is most common in the lumbar (lower) region near the pelvis.
Fractures
While an X-ray will detect a clear and obvious fracture, it can miss stress fractures that are no more than the thickness of a human hair. Breaks will show up as dark lines on the image and can also be separated from damage to surrounding tissue and ligaments.
What to Do if Your MRI Shows Whiplash
Being told that you have whiplash can be unsettling, and it’s normal to have questions and concerns. The precise nature and duration of your treatment will depend on the specific type of whiplash you have suffered. The key is to seek the appropriate diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible so that you can begin your recovery. Here’s how to approach the next steps:
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Take your report to your GP, who will be able to refer you to onward care.
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Or, you can take your report to seek treatment directly from a private healthcare provider.
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Seek guidance from your doctor on managing the whiplash pain in the meantime.
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Ensure you stick to any treatment plans provided to speed up your recovery.
By staying calm and working through the steps above, you can give yourself the best chance of a quick recovery.
Treatment Options
Your treatment plan will depend on the nature of your injuries, but understanding the common approaches will make things less daunting.
Rest
The body needs time to heal and any course of treatment will include plenty of rest. Taking time off work, doing less work around the house, and generally being mindful about how much activity you are doing can support your recovery.
Ice Therapy
Ice therapy can effectively manage injuries that cause swelling and inflammation. By soothing the swelling, it reduces the pressure on surrounding parts of the body.
Stretching Exercises
Stretches are particularly important when muscles and soft tissues have been damaged. Once repaired, the muscles will tighten to protect themselves from further damage. Gentle, progressive stretching will lengthen them again.
Massage Therapy
A deep-tissue massage can help relieve tension and soothe associated swelling. It can also help improve suppleness when the body tenses up after a sudden impact.
Pain Relief medication
Medication will be a key component of virtually all types of whiplash treatment. Doctors will look to provide medication that reduces pain, which can help you undergo physical therapy more comfortably, but will not put you at risk of worsening the injury.
Heat Therapy
Tissue and ligaments that have been stressed will tighten up to protect themselves. Targeted heat increases blood flow to speed up healing while also helping to ease tightness and tension.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy will be recommended for more severe cases of whiplash, particularly those with slipped discs. Therapy will help strengthen surrounding muscles and gradually build the body back up.
Muscle Relaxants
Muscle relaxants will be commonly prescribed when pulled muscles have tensed up and healed in a way that reduces the range of motion.
Chiropractic Adjustments
A trained chiropractor can treat spine misalignment by manually adjusting the body to realign discs and stabilise joints.
Corticosteroid Injections
These will only typically be given as a last resort in terms of pain management and are mainly given to those with slipped or bulging discs. The idea is to reduce the pain so that you can sleep and give the body more energy for recovery.
Range-Of-Motion Exercises
This is a key part of most forms of whiplash recovery and will come towards the end of the process if muscles have been torn or discs have been damaged. The exercises will gradually strengthen and lengthen the neck muscles by increasing the intensity and duration of the stretch.
Nerve-Blocking Treatments
Those suffering from more complex issues such as slipped discs may well need a nerve block to manage the pain. This is common with referred pain that feels like it is coming from different parts of the body.
Pain Management Programs
Longer-term pain will require a specialist management program, particularly in the case of misaligned discs pushing on surrounding nerves. The idea is to tackle pain in a variety of ways (rest, medication, exercise) because each can play a role in improving quality of life.
Surgery
Neck muscles and ligaments often heal on their own, but slipped or damaged discs often require surgery. A doctor can recommend the correct course of action.
Find an MRI Scan for Whiplash
Booking private MRI scans in your local area will enable you to sidestep waiting lists and get the answers you need much faster. This is important not only for a quick and full recovery but also for peace of mind.
If you have read our guide and are unsure if you need a scan, our experts are always available for a no-obligation MRI consultation. It’s a chance to ask any questions and get the guidance and support you need.
Sources
Yadla, S., et al. (2007). Whiplash: diagnosis, treatment, and associated injuries. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684148/
Anderson, C., et al. (2018). A narrative review on cervical interventions in adults with chronic whiplash-associated disorder. https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000299
Sterling, M. (2014). Physiotherapy management of whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1836955314000058
