Whiplash vs. Spinal Cord Injury After a New Hampshire Accident

Whiplash and spinal injuries are both relatively common after New Hampshire car accidents. However, these injuries are distinct in many ways. How do you determine whether you have suffered whiplash or a cord injury? Can both injuries lead to compensation? These are questions you might want to ask an experienced personal injury attorney after receiving medical treatment.

Whiplash Is a Soft Tissue Injury

While whiplash can certainly affect the spine, the injury affects the soft tissue that surrounds the spine. Whiplash is not an injury to the spine itself. That said, whiplash can still be extremely painful, uncomfortable, and debilitating. Whiplash patients often seek help from specialists such as physiatrists, orthopedics, physiotherapists and pain management.

Spinal Cord Injuries Affect the Spine

A spinal injury can affects the actual bones of the spinal column or the spinal cord itself. This type of trauma goes beyond the muscles around the spine, and it may also affect the nerves. While a victim might recover from whiplash within a few months, the damage associated with spinal cord injuries may require surgery and can be permanent. Doctors may refer to spinal cord injuries as “catastrophic” injuries. Examples of injuries to the spinal cord itself can include paraplegia and quadriplegia.

How Do I Tell the Difference Between Whiplash and Spinal Cord Injury?

If you’re not sure whether you have suffered whiplash or a spinal cord injury, the most obvious option is to seek medical attention. Even if you believe that you have suffered neither of these injuries, medical treatment and diagnosis are still crucial after a car crash. Sometimes, spinal cord injuries and whiplash can be quite subtle at first. These injuries may also become worse over time, making prompt treatment very important.

It is theoretically possible to confuse whiplash with a spinal cord injury. These injuries can share a few common symptoms, including numbness, “pins and needles,” and overall muscle weakness. However, spinal cord injuries are more serious than whiplash.

It is possible to suffer both whiplash and spinal cord injury at the same time. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a “portion of the patient population” has suffered both chronic whiplash and spinal cord damage. It may be important to investigate this possibility, especially as you strive to recover fair compensation for your full range of damages.

Can a New Hampshire Car Accident Lawyer Help Me Recover Compensation?

A New Hampshire car accident lawyer may be able to help you recover compensation, regardless of whether you have suffered whiplash or a spinal cord injury. While the latter is much more serious, both injuries represent legitimate concerns for car accident survivors. In some cases, it may be difficult to distinguish between spinal cord injuries and whiplash. After receiving medical attention, consider contacting Manning Zimmerman & Oliveira PLLC for more information.

Sources:

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5019487/

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5019487/#:~:text=Preliminary%20evidence%20suggests%20that%20a,injury%20of%20the%20cervical%20spine.