One of the most common ailments of a car accident is called whiplash. The term describes a type of neck injury inflicted by a sudden jerk, usually from behind, due to a forceful impact. During such movement, the fine layer of tissue in your neck is the first to take the brunt of the impact. One strong enough to force the neck beyond its limits is strong enough to tear the tissue. The term �whiplash� originated in 1928 and is now used in place of associated injuries, such as: Flexion-extension and Hyper-extension.

Some whiplash symptoms may surface immediately, while others might take a few hours or years to appear. Most of the time, the later the symptoms kick in, the minimal the damage. Common symptoms include neck pain, sensitivity in the back of the neck, neck swelling, cramps or spasms in the neck, difficulty moving the neck and pain spreading from the neck to other areas of your body. As you can see, this is one injury that can cause a terrible inconvenience.

Finding Relief
�
So what should you do if you discover such symptoms? Here are a few tips to help you recover:

1. If you don�t feel the situation warrants medical attention, grab an ice pack, wrap it in a hand towel and apply to the affected area for about 20 minutes every hour.

2. When experiencing symptoms, you want to relax and move your neck as little as possible. You should also keep the injured area supported and protected.

3. After relaxing and relieving the pain, you should then focus on restoring normal positioning and movement. This will complete the healing process, by mending the affected muscles and ligaments.

4. If self treatment isn�t completely alleviating the pain, you should definitely seek professional help.


--
This article was written on behalf of Claims for you who offer road traffic accident claimand injury claims