Sometimes yes, you will feel neck pain or have trouble moving your neck right after the accident, but most likely, it is going to take a little time for the pain to really build up. Believe it or not, some people can actually make it a couple of years without any problems and then suddenly, out of no where, they experience the problems from whiplash.

Now, what exactly happens to your neck during an auto accident? When there is a motion or a force that is abnormal and applied to your neck, your neck is pushed outside of its regular or normal range of motion. This can happen during sports activities, assaults, slips and falls and also during car accidents, which is when this damage usually happens. Also, even a slight accident where something loose in the car comes forward and hits you in the head can cause whiplash, even if the accident wasn't great enough to toss your head around on its own.

Most people think that they have to be going at a high rate of speed to experience whiplash. This is hardly the case at all. Studies have shown that you could be going as slow as 5 miles per hour and still end up with whiplash. In fact, you could be at a stand still. If another vehicle is going fast or strikes you going ten or fifteen miles per hour, you can end up with whiplash. This just goes to show you that you are in no way in control of whether or not you are going to come home tomorrow with whiplash, even though there are some exercises out there that can help you avoid major whiplash.

Although the seat belts will protect you from going out the windshield, they will not protect you from whiplash. Another thing to remember is that after an auto accident, you are generally in shock and your adrenaline is running. You may not feel any sort of pain at all. Even if you feel as though you are fine, it is still important to make sure that you are taken to the hospital. If you ever want or need to file a lawsuit, the fact that you skipped a hospital ride may in fact hurt your case. You do not want to miss out on the money you need for proper treatment of pain because you "thought" you were fine right after the accident. Always remember that most pain experienced after a car accident will come days, weeks or months after the accident.