What is a Whiplash Injury?

Any motor vehicle accident can cause a whiplash injury, but they are most common in rear-end accidents. About 10-20 percent of the occupants of a vehicle in a rear-end car collision suffer from whiplash injury. This injury is defined as a non-contact acceleration-deceleration injury to the head-neck system. There is no direct impact on the neck with a whiplash injury as it results from sudden extension and flexion of the neck. In other words, a force snaps the head forward and backward. It can injure intervertebral joints, disks, ligaments, cervical muscles or even nerve roots.