What are the different grades of whiplash?

Grade 0: no complaints or physical signs. Grade 1: indicates neck complaints but no physical signs. Grade 2: indicates neck complaints and musculoskeletal signs. Grade 3: neck complaints and neurological signs.

What exactly is whiplash?

What is a whiplash? Whiplash is an injury to your neck. It is caused by your neck bending forcibly forward and then backward, or vice versa. The injury, which is poorly understood, usually involves the muscles, discs, nerves, and tendons in your neck.

What does whiplash look like on MRI?

Some findings in MRI studies of patients with whiplash-associated disorders are 1,6,7,8: loss of lordosis. prevertebral edema. ligamentous injury, most often the alar and the transverse ligaments, that may be thicker and with signal alteration, which represents swelling and edema.

Is whiplash a medical condition?

Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension, although the exact injury mechanisms remain unknown.

What is Level 3 whiplash?

Grade 3 Pain, stiffness or tenderness and neurological signs of injury, such as changes to reflexes or weakness in the arms. Grade 4 Pain and fracture or dislocation of the neck.

What is the ICD 10 code for whiplash?

S13.4
Whiplash injury is classified as neck pain ICD-10 S13. 4. Whiplash is not life threatening but can cause partial disability for a while.

Where is whiplash pain?

After a whiplash injury, you may feel a dull, aching pain in the front or back of your neck (or both). Many people have a stiff neck that makes it difficult to turn your head side to side. It’s important to note that a motor vehicle’s speed at the time of impact does not dictate how severe your symptoms are.

How do doctors test for whiplash?

Healthcare providers can usually diagnose whiplash by examining your symptoms and asking you questions about your injury. CT scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show details of damaged soft tissues (such as nerves or disks), though they may not always be required.

Can whiplash be seen on xray?

The difficulty with diagnosing whiplash is that it does not really show up on an X-ray, CT scan or an MRI scan. The diagnosis is usually made by asking the patient how they feel and then proceeding from there. People usually have pain in the back of their neck and they find that the pain is worse when they move.

What does whiplash do to your spine?

Whiplash typically occurs when your head is forcefully and quickly thrown backward and then forward. This motion can injure bones in the spine, disks between the bones, ligaments, muscles, nerves and other tissues of the neck.