What exactly is neck strain / whiplash?
A neck injury happens in a car crash when your neck is either flung backwards (called hyperextension) or flung forwards (called hyperflexion). Neck strain is common in rear-end accidents, because the force of being hit from behind – even at a very slow speed – causes the body to jerk forward, flinging the head and neck forward, backwards, or both. A neck sprain or strain – also known as whiplash – means that you have sustained damage to your neck. You can hurt your intervertebral joints, spinal cord disks, spinal cord ligaments, cervical muscles, or nerve roots in a whiplash accident.
