Whiplash is probably the most common personal injury that you can suffer in a car accident. This is in large part due to the fact that, unlike most other types of injuries, you can get whiplash in even low-speed car crashes.
However, despite its prevalence, there is not very much known about whiplash. Doctors and researchers disagree on many aspects of whiplash, including some very basic facts about it. Even the precise cause of whiplash has long been a source of disagreement.
New research, though, has shed some light on this issue. These developments could make things much easier for you to get the compensation that you need after getting whiplash in a car accident near St. Joseph.
Cause of Whiplash Used to Be Highly Debatable
Because whiplash is such a common injury after a car accident, and because it presents some strange symptoms, it has long been a contentious injury. Insurance companies have fought against paying medical expenses for whiplash for decades. Because it’s been such a highly contentious issue, with billions of dollars a year in medical expenses at stake, independent and unbiased research on whiplash had been difficult to find.
In fact, there was so little research into whiplash that even how it happened was shrouded in mystery. The most that doctors could agree on was that it often happened in car accidents, and that it was the result of a sudden head movement.
New Research Sheds Light on How Whiplash Happens
Researchers at the Spine Research Institute of San Diego, however, have delved deeper into the issue than most other organizations. Using high-tech cameras and new models of crash test dummies – which more accurately simulate how the back and neck muscles react to a crash – the researchers at the Spine Research Institute were able to get a better idea of exactly how whiplash happens in a car accident.
Their research found that the force of a car accident on the vehicle’s occupants leads to both a hyperextended and a hyperflexed neck. This forces the vertebrae in your neck into an S-shape. This wreaks havoc on your neck muscles and tendons. Minute variables, like your height, weight, and the looseness of your seatbelt can also contribute to how much impact this has on the soft tissue in your neck. Additionally, side-to-side force – which will happen unless you’re being hit from either directly behind you or directly in front of you – will make any whiplash injury you suffer even more complicated.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
Research on whiplash is far behind the times. Developments like these are refreshing to see, even if they only deal with basic aspects of a whiplash injury. Any new information into this common and often debilitating injury can make it easier for you to get the financial help you need to overcome your pain and suffering.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident near St. Joseph, call the Smith Law Office at (816) 875-9373 or contact us online.