Does whiplash cause disc herniations?
A whiplash injury to the cervical spine can cause damage to the muscular or ligamentous structures of the spine. If the whiplash does injure the annulus of the disc, this can contribute to a herniated disc of the neck. It is extremely unlikely that a whiplash injury would cause a herniated disc in a previously normal disc. The more common situation is that someone already has significant degenerative disease of their spine and is involved in some sort of traumatic incident which exacerbates their preexisting symptoms.
