Chronic spinal degeneration, stress and muscle strain are not the only causes of neck pain: An acute injury, like a fall or a car accident, can cause whiplash and neck pain that takes weeks, months, or even years to recover from and which may, in some cases, cause permanent cervical spinal problems. Early treatment for whiplash can help prevent chronic problems but the difficulty is that symptoms sometimes do not arise in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Knowing if spine surgery is necessary for whiplash and neck pain or whether a less invasive treatment could be of benefit is difficult but recent reviews are gradually giving us a clearer picture of how best to improve outcome after such an injury. Read more