In the last ten to fifteen years substantial progress has been made in understanding whiplash injuries. Many individuals who suffered from whiplash injuries were thought to be malingering or seeking insurance or disability benefits without cause from minor motor vehicle accidents. These individuals, most commonly women, often suffer upper neck and back pain, trouble sleeping, fatigue, and chronic muscle soreness. They may also experience forgetfulness, brain fog, mental fatigue, loss of motivation, irritability and other brain behavior changes.
New research shows that the mechanism of injury to the neck with whiplash trauma is not due to “hyper-flexion or hyperextension movement” as previously thought. Rather, it is a shearing activity that occurs in cervical spine in less than a tenth of a second at the point of impact. This shearing effect is an abnormal motion and causes stretching and tearing in the ligaments, cartilage and other soft tissues of the neck. It creates a non-physiologic cervical S-curvature which is responsible for the neck injury. The area that is primarily affected is the lower neck region, but it may affect the entire cervical spine or neck and have consequences in other regions. Women are at a higher risk for injury simply because they generally have less muscle mass and smaller tendons and ligaments. Thus, they are not able to withstand as much force before the cervical spine reaches its end-point causing the joints to go beyond normal physiologic range.
Whiplash and Thyroid Function

While these findings have great implications for overall health for many involved in minor motor vehicle accidents, the concern for health also extends to thyroid function. The thyroid gland sits in front of the trachea, below the Adam’s apple in the lower neck. This is the same area that is commonly traumatized with whiplash. While the link between whiplash injuries and hypothyroidism is not fully understood, it has been demonstrated that there is a significant connection. Many individuals with new or undiagnosed hypothyroidism have a history of whiplash injury. The symptoms may be coming from the injured spine and soft tissue disruption, but it is also quite likely that the thyroid has been pushed into a state of hypothyroidism from the injury inflammation.
HPA Axis and Adrenal Function

It is also known that individuals with chronic whiplash injuries, have negative effects occurring with the HPA axis and the adrenal stress hormone, cortisol. The HPA axis is the loop of communications that starts in the unconscious brain, the hypothalamus, that then tells our pituitary and adrenal glands how to manage cortisol. This feedback loop also communicates with the thyroid. Persons dealing with chronic whiplash concerns often have abnormal function in this system.