What is a soft tissue injury?

A soft tissue injury is an injury to one of the body's "soft" areas ligaments, tendons and muscles. The most common soft tissue injury caused by car accidents is whiplash. Soft tissue injuries also include sprains, bruises and strains. The difference between a strain and a sprain is that a sprain is the resulting damage to a ligament following joint overextension while a strain is the overuse of a muscle or tendon. Whiplash happens when the impact from a collision forces the head and neck to move back and forth violently. Whiplash causes neck stiffness, headaches, sharp neck pain and back problems. Whiplash can also cause blurred vision, dizziness, shoulder pain, arm and hand pain/tingling.