health

Although most whiplash injuries are caused by rear-end auto collisions,
they can also be caused by:

• Amusement park rides, particularly roller coasters and bumper-car
  rides
  
• Falling from a horse, bicycle, or motorcycle
• Railroad and airplane accidents
  
• Contact injuries in sports like football, wrestling, or judo
  
• Being hit on the head by a falling object
  
• Being shaken or hit on the head by an abusive parent or other attacker

Doctors donot agree, however, on exactlywhat causes the pain of whiplash
in terms of the structures of thehumanneck. Somethink that whiplash injury is
caused by hyperextension of the neck, which is themedical term for stretching
the neck beyond its normal range ofmotion.Other doctors think that the biological
cause of whiplash injuries is damage to nerve endings in the neck.
There is no clear relationship between an automobile’s speed at the time of
an accident and a passenger’s risk of a whiplash injury; people have reported
whiplash injuries when their car was traveling at no more than 15 miles
per hour (24 kilometers per hour).

Some doctors use a four-level scale for assessing the symptoms of a whiplash injury.
The scale was first drawn up by a task force in Quebec in 1995.

• Level 1: Soreness or stiffness in the neck but there are no
  physical signs that can be detected by a doctor.
  
• Level 2: The patient complains of pain and the doctor finds
  a decreased range of motion in the neck.
  
• Level 3: The person has pain moving from the neck into
  the shoulders and arms plus such symptoms as insomnia, weakness,
  headache, blurred vision, or ringing in the ears.
  
• Level 4: In addition to the patient’s symptoms, the doctor
  can detect dislocations or fractures of the bones in the neck,
  or injury to the spinal cord.