Have you ever experienced whiplash? If so, then you know just how painful this sudden condition can be. Mayo Clinic defines whiplash as “a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip.” Ouch!
Most of the time, people with whiplash recover within a few weeks through the help of exercise and medication, but this is not always the case. If you’ve been injured and developed whiplash, you may have chronic neck pain or other underlying complications.
Physical therapy at Preferred Physical Therapy can help relieve your pain and discomfort, and strengthen your muscles to avoid future neck injuries. To learn more about our therapeutic methods for this, call our clinic in Deerfield Beach, FL today.
Causes of whiplash
It can be very painful and restrict movement. The sudden movement of the neck and head in a car accident can cause whiplash. Blunt force trauma from a car accident can collapse lungs and break ribs. It can also result in damage to the spine, disks between the vertebrae, ligaments, muscles, nerves, and tissues in the neck as well.
Common causes are:
- Neck injuries received from an auto accident, such as rear ending
- Sports-related accidents
- Falls
Symptoms of whiplash
If left untreated, whiplash often causes musculoskeletal headaches. Musculoskeletal headaches occur when there are significant amounts of tension in the neck. This is typically a result of weaknesses, physical imbalances, or damage, although emotional tension (such as stress) can also be a contributing factor.
With neck injuries such as whiplash, the muscles and connective tissues in the neck can become torn or strained. This can lead to agonizing pain radiating in the head, as well as in the face, shoulders, or neck.
Other symptoms of whiplash that Preferred Physical Therapy can treat include:
- Loss of range of motion in the neck
- Tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back or arms
- Tingling or numbness in the arms
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Memory issues
- Depression/anxiety
- Blurred vision
How can physical help with whiplash?
Physical therapy at Preferred Physical Therapy can help alleviate pain from this by showing you how to keep pain symptoms at bay, improve flexibility, increase strength and recover faster.
The sooner you get physical therapy after an accident resulting in whiplash, the more likely you are to have a successful, pain-free outcome. Physical therapy can help prevent degenerative disc diseases in patients with whiplash.
A Deerfield Beach, FL therapist will assess your injury and pain symptoms, and then create a customized treatment plan for you. Manual therapy and therapeutic exercises may be utilized. These pump oxygen, blood and nutrients to the injury site and enhance healing.
Other healing techniques a physical therapist may use to relieve your discomfort are:
- Soft tissue mobilization
- Ice and/or therapy
- Specific exercises and targeted resting positions
- Stretching
Contact our clinic today
Every exercise and stretch prescribed by a physical therapist has a specific goal for recovery and improves function and mobility. If you are ready to experience true pain relief from a whiplash injury, call our clinic today to set up an appointment with one of our physical therapists.
Source:
Soft Tissue Mobilization | PT Centralptcentral.org › treatment › soft-tissue-mobilization