If you have been in a car accident, there is a risk that you have sustained a soft tissue injury like whiplash. Whiplash can be a really painful problem and it can take some time for it to completely heal. What is whiplash and what can you do about it?
Whiplash
Whiplash happens when your head is suddenly thrown forward and then back, as if it were on a bungee cord. This occurs because you have forward momentum while you are moving forward and then your body suddenly stops, but your head still wants to move forward until it can't anymore so it is snapped back. That stretches out the musculature in your neck, which is what eventually causes whiplash. Symptoms include a sore neck that really hurts when you move your head forward or backward, severe headache, and pain in your upper back. If you do think that you have whiplash, you have different treatment options to choose from.
PCP
One thing that you can do is to go see your primary care physician. They can give you some things that can help treat your whiplash. That's primarily going to be something to help handle the pain, anti-inflammatories to help bring down the inflammation, and something like a neck brace in order to give your neck some extra support. Because whiplash is a soft tissue injury, it doesn't show up on x-ray which can make it hard for a definitive diagnosis. Your doctor can judge based on your symptoms and make an informed diagnosis, but there aren't really any diagnostic tests. That's not the only option you have though.
Chiropractor
Another option you have is to go see a chiropractor. They can give you a lot of help when it comes to treating your whiplash. They can do that by using things like careful adjustments and manipulations in order to help get everything back to normal. They can also give you therapeutic massages of the area which can help to reduce the pain of your headache and the stress that it is putting on your body. That can help with headaches and such.
Whiplash can be really painful. It is a pretty common injury after a car accident. If you do end up with whiplash after you have a car accident, you want to make sure that you know what your treatment options are so that you can start to feel better soon. Contact an auto accident injury rehab clinic for more help.
