January 19, 2026
Medical Reviewer: Dylan Saulsbery, DC, DIBCN, DIBE, CBIS

How Long Does Whiplash Last? Plus 7 Other FAQs About Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries you can experience in a motor vehicle accident. While symptoms may not appear immediately, whiplash can have serious and long-lasting health consequences if left untreated. In this blog, we’ll answer common questions about signs of whiplash, how doctors diagnose and treat the condition, and how treatment is essential to your recovery and for preventing long-term complications.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a neck injury that results from a sudden, violent, back-and-forth jerk to the neck. It affects the soft tissues and muscles in your neck, but it can also damage the nerves and bones in your cervical spine (the top part of your spine that runs up the back of your neck).

Whiplash commonly occurs during rear-end car accidents. One car strikes another from behind, causing the head of an occupant in the front vehicle to jerk forward, then immediately backward. Whiplash is also a common sports injury, and it can occur with other types of trauma, such as falls.

What Speed Causes Whiplash? 

Car accidents of any speed can cause pain and other symptoms, but studies haven’t found a concrete speed at which whiplash occurs. Even a slow‑moving vehicle can cause whiplash if there is a sudden acceleration or deceleration. One study suggests that symptoms can develop at speeds as low as about 2.5 miles per hour (mph).

What Does Whiplash Feel Like?

Neck pain and stiffness are the most common symptoms of whiplash and often appear within days of an injury. You may feel tightness, discomfort when turning or tilting your head or have a reduced range of motion. If experiencing pain, it may worsen with movement and spread beyond the neck.

Other common symptoms of whiplash include:

• Headaches, often starting at the base of the skull
• Shoulder, upper back or arm pain or tenderness
• Tingling or numbness in the arms or hands
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fatigue

Some people may also experience:

• Blurred vision or ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Trouble sleeping
• Difficulty focusing or memory issues
• Irritability or mood changes, including depression

Symptoms of whiplash don’t always appear immediately. It may take up to a few hours or days to notice symptoms, but when you do, schedule an appointment as soon as possible to prevent whiplash from causing long-term complications.

What Happens If Whiplash Goes Untreated?

Without treatment, whiplash can cause many unpleasant symptoms, including headaches, chronic pain and long-term difficulties with balance or mobility. 

In addition, whiplash can cause the following long-term problems:

• Balance issues: Whiplash trauma can compress the nerves in the neck, leading to dizziness and a loss of balance.
• Chronic pain: People with long-term whiplash can experience long-lasting neck pain that travels through the shoulders and arms.
• Limited neck mobility: Untreated whiplash can damage neck muscles and soft tissues, causing scarring and inflammation. Over time, you may lose muscle strength or the muscles may atrophy (waste away), which can limit your ability to move your neck.
• Lingering headaches: Whiplash can cause intermittent or random head pain that comes and goes.

How Is Whiplash Diagnosed?

When you see a chiropractor or other medical professional, they’ll evaluate your neck and spine and look for poor range of motion, general weakness and pain. They will also feel around your neck and back, looking for tender spots and tightness.

Healthcare providers might use a staging or grading system called the Quebec Classification of Whiplash-Associated Disorders to categorize the level of neck injury or soft-tissue damage associated with whiplash injuries. The grades include:

• Grade 0: No pain or neck injuries
• Grade 1: Neck pain, stiffness or tenderness but no signs of injury
• Grade 2: Neck pain, stiffness or tenderness along with physical signs of injury
• Grade 3: Pain along with signs of injury and neurological damage, such as headaches or dizziness
• Grade 4: Signs of grades 1 to 3 plus fractured or dislocated vertebrae

How Is Whiplash Treated?

Initially, a chiropractor may use gentle stretching, ultrasound and other techniques to reduce inflammation and treat whiplash symptoms. They may also recommend applying ice to reduce the swelling. 

After the initial swelling and pain have gone down, they will use spinal manipulation to restore joint motion and reduce stiffness.

Many people find that chiropractic care significantly reduces the long-term effects of whiplash and improves their quality of life after an accident. The benefits of chiropractic treatment for whiplash include:

• Faster healing
• Improved flexibility and range of motion in the neck and shoulders
• Less pain and stiffness

Chiropractic care does not involve surgery or medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or muscle relaxers, which are sometimes prescribed to treat whiplash. 

Does Whiplash Ever Fully Heal?

Recovering from whiplash depends on the severity of your injury and how closely you follow your treatment plan. For some people, symptoms improve within three months, but for many others, symptoms can linger for months or years. If you have pain for three or more months, your chiropractor or another provider may diagnose you with a chronic whiplash-associated disorder, and you may need long-term treatment to help manage symptoms.

In Conclusion 

Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries, and it’s important to seek care as soon as possible to find relief from your pain and prevent complications. If you’ve recently been in a car accident or had a neck injury, remember these key points: 

1. Whiplash symptoms may develop hours or even days after the injury. 
2. Symptoms can appear after rear-end collisions that happen at very low or very fast speeds. 
3. A chiropractor or other health professional will diagnose your injury and determine its severity.
4. They can treat you using spinal manipulation and other therapies that don’t cause side effects or require the downtime of surgery. 
5. Your recovery time will depend on your injury, but following your care plan will allow for the best possible results.

Complete Care offers comprehensive treatment to help you recover from whiplash and other accident-related injuries. Request an appointment at one of our convenient locations across Central Florida.