“Whiplash” is the term used commonly to describe a soft tissue injury to the neck, which occurs when the head has been forced into a sudden forward and backward movement. Your chiropractor or medical practitioner may also use the term “acceleration flexion-extension neck injury” or “hyper-extension neck injury”. The most common cause of whiplash is a motor vehicle accident, but it can also be the result of a sporting injury or other trauma. Child abuse, particularly the shaking of a child, can also result in this injury, as well as more serious injuries to the child’s brain or spinal cord known as “shaken baby syndrome”.