Whiplash & Neck Pain After a Crash | North Vancouver

Yes. Book a session, start treatment, and report the crash to ICBC in parallel. Once you have the claim number, we can backdate the billing in many cases. Starting early matters here: people who begin gentle, guided movement within the first two weeks after a crash tend to recover faster than people who wait for the claim paperwork to finish first.

Within the first 1 to 2 weeks if at all possible. Clinical practice guidelines for whiplash-associated disorders support early, active care: people who start gentle, guided movement within the first two weeks tend to recover faster and have lower rates of chronic pain. Even if you feel "not that bad", a quick assessment now is far easier than a long fix later.

Usually no. Whiplash symptoms come from soft-tissue irritation, joint stiffness, and a nervous system that's been temporarily turned up too high, not from a structural problem that imaging would catch. We reserve MRI or X-ray for cases where the physical exam suggests a structural issue, and that's a small minority. We'll route you back to your GP if we think it's warranted.

ICBC has an extension process for cases that need longer. Many people see substantial improvement within 8 to 12 weeks when they start active care early, but some take longer and benefit from a coordinated plan with ICBC, your GP, and us. We help you and your GP fill out the paperwork to extend coverage, and extensions get approved routinely for patients whose recovery genuinely needs more time.

Often yes. It's called cervicogenic dizziness, and it's a known consequence of upper-cervical irritation rather than an inner-ear problem. The sensation that your eyes can't track properly when you turn your head is a common companion symptom, alongside a stiff neck and headache at the base of the skull. It usually resolves within a few weeks of targeted treatment, including vestibular work when dizziness is part of the picture.

No, current guidelines recommend the opposite for most whiplash cases. Recovery is much more about early, graded movement than about rest: people who start gentle, guided movement within the first two weeks tend to recover faster and have lower rates of chronic pain than people who stay in a collar or avoid movement entirely. We build that graded movement plan around your specific symptoms.

This is common with whiplash. Your head accelerates and decelerates faster than the muscles holding it can keep up with, most often in a rear-end collision, and the resulting soft-tissue irritation and joint stiffness often doesn't announce itself until the next morning. That delay is exactly why people frequently delay getting it looked at, even though earlier assessment makes early treatment possible.