After a car accident, most people check two things: whether anyone is hurt and how bad the damage to the car is. If you walked away without obvious injuries, you were probably relieved. Then, a day or two later, your neck started to stiffen. Maybe headaches followed, or a strange dizziness when you turned your head. Maybe it has been weeks or months, and you are still not right.
That pattern is common, and it is not in your head. Whiplash is one of the most frequent injuries from car accidents, and it is also one of the most underestimated. This article explains what whiplash does to the neck, why symptoms are often delayed, which signs need emergency care, and where chiropractic care, and upper cervical care in particular, can fit into recovery.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash is a neck injury caused by a rapid back-and-forth movement of the head, most often from a rear-end collision. In the fraction of a second after impact, your torso is pushed forward by the seat while your head lags behind, then snaps forward. That motion strains the muscles, ligaments, discs, and joints of the neck beyond their normal range.
Clinicians often use the term whiplash-associated disorders, because the injury can produce a wide range of symptoms beyond neck pain. You do not need a high-speed crash to be injured. Low-speed collisions can still cause whiplash, and the amount of damage to your vehicle does not reliably predict the amount of injury to your neck.
Why Symptoms Are Often Delayed
Many people feel fine at the scene. Adrenaline and the stress response can mask pain for hours. Inflammation in injured tissue then builds over the following day or two, which is why stiffness and pain often peak 24 to 72 hours after the accident.
Some symptoms take even longer to show up. Headaches at the base of the skull, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating may not become obvious until you return to work, drive, or spend long hours at a screen. Because of that delay, people often do not connect these symptoms to the accident at all.
Common Whiplash Symptoms
- Neck pain and stiffness, often with reduced ability to turn your head
- Headaches, especially starting at the base of the skull
- Shoulder and upper back pain
- Dizziness or a feeling of being off balance
- Jaw pain or clicking
- Tingling or numbness in the arms or hands
- Fatigue, poor sleep, and difficulty concentrating
- Blurred vision or sensitivity to light
If you also hit your head, or your head moved violently enough to jolt the brain, you may have had a concussion as well. The two injuries frequently occur together. What Is Post-Concussion Syndrome and Why Doesn’t It Always Go Away? explains how they overlap.
When to Go to the Emergency Room First
Chiropractic care is not the first stop after every accident. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following after a collision:
- Severe neck pain, especially after a high-speed crash, a rollover, or being ejected from the vehicle
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arms or legs
- Loss of consciousness, even briefly
- Confusion, slurred speech, repeated vomiting, or a worsening headache
- Trouble walking, loss of balance, or loss of bladder or bowel control
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing
These can be signs of a fracture, spinal cord injury, or brain injury, and they need immediate medical evaluation and imaging. Once serious injuries are ruled out, the question becomes how to address what remains.
Why Whiplash Doesn’t Always Heal on Its Own
Many whiplash injuries improve over the first several weeks. But a significant number do not. Studies commonly report that roughly half of people with whiplash still have some neck pain a year after the accident.
One reason is that whiplash affects more than muscles. The ligaments that stabilize the neck can be stretched, and once stretched they do not always return to their original strength. The small joints of the neck can lose normal motion. The sensors in the neck that report head position to your brain can begin sending inaccurate information.
That last point is important. Research on whiplash has repeatedly found that many patients have measurable problems with neck position sense, meaning they cannot accurately return their head to neutral with their eyes closed. That kind of sensory problem helps explain why whiplash can cause dizziness, balance problems, and visual strain, not just pain. It also explains why imaging can look normal while symptoms persist. If you have been told your scans are fine, Why Can’t Anyone Tell Me What’s Wrong With My Neck speaks directly to that experience.
Why the Upper Neck Takes So Much of the Force
During whiplash, the head acts like a weight on the end of a flexible rod. Much of the force concentrates at the top of the neck, where the skull meets the atlas (C1) and axis (C2).
The atlas has no interlocking bony structure holding it in place. It relies on ligaments and small muscles, which makes it highly mobile and vulnerable to injury. The region also surrounds the junction where the brainstem meets the spinal cord, and it is densely packed with the position sensors described above.
When the upper neck is injured or misaligned, the effects can reach well beyond neck pain:
- Headaches that start at the base of the skull
- Dizziness and vertigo, often tied to neck movement. Cervicogenic Vertigo vs. BPPV explains how neck-related dizziness differs from inner ear causes.
- Jaw pain and TMJ dysfunction, since the jaw is also forced open and closed during impact
- Persistent neck pain and stiffness
Whiplash injuries have also been associated with a higher rate of later widespread pain conditions. Fibromyalgia and the Nervous System covers that research.
How Chiropractic Can Help
Chiropractic care can be part of whiplash recovery once serious injuries have been ruled out. The goal is to restore normal joint function, reduce ongoing irritation, and help the nervous system receive accurate information again.
Not all chiropractic care is the same, and the approach matters with a fresh neck injury. Some patients are understandably uneasy about having an injured neck twisted. Upper cervical care offers a different option: gentle, precise corrections focused on the top of the neck, with no twisting and no cracking. For a full comparison, read Upper Cervical Chiropractic vs. Traditional Chiropractic.
How We Evaluate Whiplash Patients at Keystone Chiropractic
Whiplash injuries often look normal on standard imaging, so our evaluation is built to measure both structure and function. We use three diagnostic tools together, because each one shows something the others cannot:
- CBCT cone beam CT scanning: 3D imaging of the upper cervical spine and craniocervical junction, showing the precise position and structure of the atlas and axis. Keystone Chiropractic is one of very few chiropractic practices in Central Illinois using CBCT.
- Infrared thermography: a noninvasive scan that identifies nervous system stress patterns along the spine.
- The NeckCare System: an FDA-listed functional assessment backed by over 20 years of peer-reviewed cervical spine research, capturing more than 120 positional data points per second. It includes three tests: Cervical Range of Motion, which measures precise degrees of movement in all six directions; the Joint Position Error Test, which measures how accurately you return your head to neutral with your eyes closed; and the Butterfly Test, which measures sensorimotor coordination between your neck, eyes, and nervous system.
The NeckCare System is especially relevant after a car accident. Neck range of motion and position sense are exactly the functions whiplash tends to disrupt, and your results are compared to normative data. That gives you an objective record of how the injury has affected your neck and a baseline for measuring progress. Learn more on our NeckCare System page.
If the findings point to the upper neck, care follows the Blair upper cervical technique: no twisting, no cracking, and a gentle, low-force correction specific to your individual anatomy as shown on your CBCT images. After each adjustment, patients rest in a zero gravity chair for approximately 30 minutes to allow the correction to settle. Read more on our whiplash care page and in What Is the Blair Upper Cervical Technique?
Upper cervical care does not cure whiplash. It addresses a specific structural problem at the top of the neck so the nervous system can function normally again. If your evaluation suggests the upper neck is not a significant factor, you deserve to hear that plainly. Progress is retested objectively over time, as described in How We Track Your Progress.
Don’t Wait for It to Go Away
It is tempting to give a sore neck a few weeks and hope for the best. But because symptoms can be delayed and some injuries do not resolve on their own, an early evaluation gives you a clearer picture of what was injured and a baseline to compare against later.
Early evaluation also creates a record. After an accident, keeping track of your symptoms, appointments, and findings from the start is helpful for your own care and for any insurance claim. Questions about coverage or a claim are best directed to your auto insurer or an attorney.
About Dr. Frederick Schurger
Dr. Frederick Schurger, DC, DCCJP, has practiced in Springfield since 2007. Before chiropractic, he earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a background that shapes how he analyzes the forces involved in whiplash and other head and neck injuries. He earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2006.
He holds the Diplomate in Chiropractic Craniocervical Junction Procedures (DCCJP), a three-year post-doctoral program involving approximately 300 hours of advanced coursework, original research, and a three-day board examination covering upper cervical anatomy, neuroscience, comparative upper cervical techniques, and craniocervical junction procedures. It is held by very few practitioners nationwide.
In 2011 he was named Blair Chiropractor of the Year. The award is selected annually by the President and senior board members of the Blair Chiropractic Members Association, is open to any member of the society, and recognizes outstanding contributions to promoting and advancing the Blair technique. He is also a Blair Advanced Instructor and has taught neurology and upper cervical anatomy at Logan University College of Chiropractic and to practitioners in the Gonstead organization. Read his full background on our About page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon after a car accident should I see a chiropractor?
If you have any emergency warning signs, go to the emergency room first. Otherwise, it is reasonable to be evaluated within the first several days, even if symptoms seem mild. Many whiplash symptoms build over 24 to 72 hours, and an early evaluation provides a baseline for tracking recovery.
Can whiplash symptoms show up weeks later?
Yes. Neck pain and stiffness usually appear within a few days, but headaches, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating can take longer to become noticeable, especially once normal activity resumes.
Is it safe to see a chiropractor with a whiplash injury?
Once fractures and other serious injuries have been ruled out, gentle care can be appropriate. Blair upper cervical care uses no twisting and no cracking, and every patient is evaluated with detailed imaging of the upper neck before any correction is made.
Why does my neck still hurt months after the accident?
Whiplash can stretch the ligaments that stabilize the neck, disrupt normal joint motion, and affect the sensors that report head position to the brain. These problems do not always resolve on their own and often do not appear on standard imaging.
Can a minor fender bender cause whiplash?
Yes. Low-speed collisions can still cause whiplash, and the amount of damage to a vehicle does not reliably predict the amount of injury to the people inside it.
Get Your Neck Evaluated After an Accident
Whether your accident was last week or years ago, an evaluation that objectively measures your upper neck can show what the injury left behind. Keystone Chiropractic is located at 450 S Durkin Drive, Ste B, in Springfield, IL, and sees patients from Chatham, Rochester, Sherman, Riverton, Taylorville, Jacksonville, Lincoln, and across Central Illinois. We are open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00am to 6:00pm.
Call (217) 698-7900 or visit our New Patients page to schedule your consultation.