While many people do recover from their injuries without long-term effects within a few weeks, some whiplash victims may develop chronic pain. The more severe your pain, movement limitations, and arm pain after the accident, the more likely you are to suffer from chronic whiplash pain. The risk for chronic whiplash pain increases if you have a prior whiplash diagnosis, are older, had other neck or back pain, or the car accident was a high-speed or high-impact accident.