Recovering From a Whiplash Injury

Recovering From a Whiplash Injury

Whiplash involves the stretching of nerves, muscles, and ligaments. The forces are so great during even low speed collisions, that the muscles cannot resist the forces. The result of a whiplash injury is that the area becomes inflamed as part of the bodys natural response to repair the damaged tissues.

During this time, fast movements of your head and neck will result in pain, so most patients become overly cautious and move their neck very little. Unfortunately, over time, because of the lack of muscle use, the area becomes weak. This sets up the difficult combination of both damaged ligaments and weak muscles, so there is less strength and support for the neck.

This may make you very vulnerable to a future injury. Even slight movements can produces flare-ups when the muscles are too weak. You may feel your head to be heavy. Sometimes it can be so severe that dizziness develops due to the non-symmetrical muscle and nerve activity. This is called cervicogenic (originating from the neck) vertigo. If you get dizzy when you move your head, then you may have this condition.

Specific muscles need to be strengthened in a way that does not cause further damage to the ligaments. If the muscles are tight in certain areas, then stretching, deep tissue massage, or trigger point therapy can help to loosen areas and decrease pain.

But the most important thing you can do on a daily basis is to keep exercising. A specific exercise program can be prescribed by a doctor of chiropractic who specializes in this area. Special attention should be made to your posture and x-rays, and how specifically you were injured. Digital motion fluoroscopic x-ray is particularly helpful in detecting which ligaments have been damaged in the neck. Only in this way will the treatment be effective and not risk further trauma.

Exercises such as rolling the head around the shoulders should be avoided since the neck is not a ball and socket joint like the shoulder. In some directions, the joints will have excessive laxity and the muscle exercises should be done in the neutral position versus at the end range or limit.

Because the ligaments can be badly damaged in a whiplash, its important to maintain the supporting muscles (both strong and flexible), to keep the spine stable and pain free.