The Whiplash Diagnosis – Learn How It is Done
If you are involved in a road traffic collision, it is highly likely you will suffer a whiplash injury. But how exactly is a whiplash injury diagnosed? What tests can be done to confirm the condition? And can a whiplash diagnosis lead to a compensation claim? We will take a look at each of these questions, helping you to understand the facts regarding whiplash diagnosis.
The Difficulty of Whiplash Diagnosis.
In the past, skeptics would dismiss whiplash-associated disorders, stating it was not an injury as it could not be identified using diagnostic tests. Although this cynical view is no longer upheld in the medical profession, doctors still lack the technology to detect whiplash injuries, and must instead depend upon the presentation of symptoms for a car accident treatment to be done.
While there is still some uncertainty over what a whiplash injury is, and how it can be diagnosed, we now understand that whiplash is a real injury that can be extremely debilitating. That is why if you have been harmed in a traffic accident (even a low-speed one) you need to seek medical attention.
How Is Whiplash Diagnosed?
When you attend a medical professional with a suspected whiplash injury, a doctor will first ask if you have experienced any recent trauma. If you have been involved in something such as a car accident, a clinician should be immediately alerted to the possibility of a whiplash-associated disorder. A physical examination should then follow, during which a doctor should remain aware of the symptoms of whiplash, including a stiff and painful neck, headaches, nausea and dizziness. The presence of these symptoms, along with a history of trauma, will be sufficient to confirm a diagnosis by car accident chiropractor.
Occasionally, a whiplash-associated disorder will involve something such as a fractured vertebra or nerve compression. In these circumstances, diagnostics tests done by Southern Nevada Chiropractic can be useful to identify the extent of harm. If such damage is suspected, no time should be wasted in sending a patient for further tests.
Have You Got A Whiplash Injury?
If you have been diagnosed with a whiplash-associated disorder, you need to consider who was to blame for your injury. If another party were at fault, you would be entitled to claim compensation for the pain and suffering you have sustained. To find out more, you need to speak to a personal injury lawyer who specializes in whiplash claims.
If you are suffering the symptoms of whiplash then in the first 24 hours of it appearing you should apply an ice pack to your neck as a way of relieving inflammation. This ice pack should be wrapped in a towel, never apply it directly to the skin, and it should be placed on the affected area in 20-minute intervals. As well as this you should be taking regular painkillers. If these painkillers, however, fail to have any effect it is important that you visit the car accident doctor to get stronger painkillers or to find a better way of dealing with the problem.
It has been estimated that about two in three people who are involved in the car crash will develop neck pain. This neck pain could appear as the only symptom that you are suffering from or you may be suffering neck pain along with an array of other symptoms. One thing that many people don’t realize is that you can be suffering from whiplash even if your road traffic accident was minor. Even slow car bumps may cause enough of a jolt to the neck to cause symptoms.
Even though the symptoms of whiplash usually resolve within a few days, there are a select few people who may still experience the symptoms of whiplash for as long as more than ten years after the injury. It is unknown why some people get more problems with whiplash than others, but in particular cases, it does happen.
If you have suffered whiplash in the last three years, then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation if the accident that caused your whiplash wasn’t your fault. For more information about claiming compensation after an accident that has left you suffering the effects of whiplash then get in touch with a legal firm today, and they will do everything possible to ensure that you get the compensation you deserve after an accident that wasn’t your fault.