What exactly is whiplash?

The term “whiplash” is actually not a very good description of this type of injury as it is describing the movement of the head and neck during a collision or other high velocity forces on the body. Logically, it can be described as the head going through acceleration (picking up speed) and then rapid deceleration (slowing down). These excessive forces on the neck are known to cause soft-tissue (ligament, tendon, muscle) injury and sometimes can affect bony tissue. Generally, the injuries obtained are sprains, strains, and other varying amounts of soft-tissue damage.