I was in a punting boat (like the ones you have in oxford/cambridge) and we was sitting facing opposite the direction of our movement. As we were going forward, we were hit in the front by a punting boat coming towards us in the other direction. We were barely moving / basically at rest if I recall correctly when suddenly this other boat hits us. As I said, I was sitting such that I could not see this boat coming. So when we were hit, I was not braced at all for the impact. It caused my head to be thrown forward, even making my teeth chatter.
I was shocked at how rapidly I felt my head and neck jolt forward given that we were on a boat and not moving very fast nor do I think the other boat was moving very fast either.
To be honest, it felt a bit like a car crash and everyone on the boat (myself included) gasped/made shocked sounds.

Could this have caused whiplash injury? Could this impact be comparable to that experienced in a car crash when rear-ended?

Yes, you can get a concussion from whiplash. The bending and twisting of the neck can cause injury with much less force than a blow to the head. And the whiplash will trigger inflammation and related symptoms.

Do you have any symptoms?

Take it easy for a couple days to allow the inflammation to subside. Then gradually increase your activity level. And introduce mild aerobic exercise after 2 days to increase the blood flow to the brain, which will improve your recovery.

Can You Get A Concussion From A Whiplash Injury?

Melody-sings,

Yes, you could have suffered a whiplash injury but I doubt it could be more than a minor whiplash event. Your back was not against or impacted by a seat back so your whole spine was able to absorb the whiplash force so less effected your neck and head. This could not be as severe as a car rear-ender collision because your entire body was able to absorb the forces, including moving on your seat.

Yes, it can be startling and that can make even minor sensations appear to be much more severe.

It sounds like you did not manifest any noticeable symptoms. There is no reason to look for an injury. Human nature is such that when one looks for an injury, symptoms will manifest that were not evident before "looking" for the injury.

Don't go looking for Dr Cameron at Complete Concussion Management to tell you that you have whiplash. He tends to exaggerate.

Thank you both for your responses.

I am aware that you can get a concussion from whiplash injury, but I was inquiring whether it seems likely that this impact was enough to firstly cause whiplash. Do you think, given the impact I described, it is enough for a whiplash injury? I guess based on this answer, we would then need to assess whether it also caused a concussion.

Additionally, my back was in fact against a seat back since we were sitting in seats on the boat. Therefore, I could not really absorb any of the impact with my body and it mostly went through to my neck.


A bit more about my symptoms:
I have a long history of PCS (almost 5 years now of on and off symptoms).
For the past year, I have had a flare of bad symptoms.
For the past few weeks specifically, I have been been feeling uncomfortably dizzy and nauseous — not like I will vomit or like the world is spinning but more of an unstable and uncomfortable feeling that seems to come from my eyes. I would maybe compare it to motion sickness but it happens when I am just trying to work on my laptop or sitting and talking to somebody or doing anything really.


This feeling was already present before the boat incident and I am not sure if it has gotten worse because of it. I would say, if anything, I have mostly become more anxious about this symptom in light of the boat incident. I do now also have some tenderness when i press on the left side of my neck and was experiencing some headaches there as well.

Does it sound like the boat incident could have made it worse?

I also had a light bump to my head last month against the low doorframe of a bus bathroom as I was exiting but this was not a very hard bump although I did worry quite a bit about it afterwards.

The onset of the dizziness seems more related to this earlier bump but I think that it might even have started a bit before that.

What do you think could be causing this dizzy feeling and accompanying nausea and how can I treat it? It has really been impacting my life very negatively as I am a student and it makes studying very challenging and uncomfortable.

melody_sings,

Your post could have been written by many others on Neurotalk of the past decade. The way you describe things and analyze and project possible injuries shows you struggle with anxious thinking. 80% of people who complain about symptoms also struggle with anxiety and/or depression.

There is no value to looking for an injury, whether it be whiplash or concussion. Whiplash can be caused by 4 to 5 Gs of acceleration/deceleration. A concussion requires 80 to 90 Gs of acceleration/deceleration. That cannot happen unless one is strongly constrained with a seatbelt during a violent sudden stop or their head impacts an object.

There is an axiom that says : Treat the symptom, not the diagnosis. If your neck is sore, treat your neck. If you are anxious, try to resolve the anxiety, if you sense dizziness, treat the dizziness.

I suggest you get checked by a vestibular therapist. Vestibular therapy usually gets fast, even instantaneous improvements as the crystals in the inner ear get moved to their proper position. You can do some self-tests for vestibular dysfunction. YouTube shows them.

There are also some vision issues that can cause problems. It is more difficult to find a vision therapist plus they are expensive and rarely covered by a health care plan.

As a student, sleep can be a BIG contributor to these struggles. Quality of sleep, sleep posture, and more can impact these issues.

Simply dealing with student stress can be a problem, especially if one struggles with anxiety.