'Soft tissue injury' is often used as shorthand for 'minor.' The two are not the same. Cervical acceleration–deceleration injury involves ligaments, facet joints, muscle, and sometimes nerve roots — and a meaningful minority of patients still have symptoms a year later.
Day 0–2: little or no pain; adrenaline and inflammation have not caught up. Day 2–7: peak stiffness, headache at the skull base, pain with rotation. Week 2–6: gradual improvement with movement and therapy. Week 6–12: most people are near baseline.
Symptoms that plateau rather than improve after six weeks deserve reassessment, not reassurance.
These findings move imaging and specialist referral up the queue.
Prolonged immobilization weakens the deep cervical stabilizers and lengthens recovery. Current practice favors early graded range of motion, postural retraining, and load progression, with collars reserved for specific structural indications.
Plain films answer questions about alignment and fracture. MRI is the tool for disc, ligament, and nerve root involvement, and is appropriate when radicular symptoms persist beyond a few weeks or neurologic findings are present.
Expect peak symptoms in the first week and steady improvement thereafter. A plateau at six weeks, arm symptoms, or any neurologic change warrants reassessment and imaging.
Our health practitioners assess post-accident injuries in Texas and Florida, with telehealth available.
