INJURED?

Can whiplash cause a TBI?

On Behalf of | Aug 2, 2019 | Car Accidents, Injuries |

Getting in a car accident in Georgia can often give you whiplash, especially when an impact occurs at high speeds. Whiplash is an injury to the neck that occurs when the head is quickly and violently jerked. While whiplash is not typically associated with harm to the brain, a recently developed brain imaging technique has shown that at times, whiplash can possibly lead to you getting a Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI.

The new technique described by the National Center for Biotechnology Information is known as Diffusion tensor imaging or DTI, and it has been able to show damage to the brain that you would not see if you got an MRI or brain CT scan. A set of six studies have demonstrated that if you suffered whiplash in a car accident, it is possible that you have suffered from a specific type of brain injury known as traumatic axonal injury or TAI.

If you were diagnosed with whiplash after a car accident but also felt that you had visual distortions, cognitive issues, sleeping problems, dizziness, headache or other symptoms similar to those experienced with a TBI, but a doctor was unable to diagnose you with a concussion, it is possible that you suffered from TAI.

Traditional brain scanning techniques fail to see this type of injury because it occurs at the cellular level with your brain cells, which are known as axons. If the brain is quickly rotated, accelerated or decelerated, the sudden motion can cause these axons to tear. If you are experiencing TBI symptoms, you may not want to rule out the possibility of TAI.

This article is meant to inform you of a possible whiplash-related brain injury, and should not be taken as legal advice.

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