Do you have whiplash pain? Want to get better? You can!

Do you have whiplash pain? Have you been in a car accident and been rear ended or hit from the side? You don't need to be in a car accident to have whiplash; I had whiplash as a child when I fell head first off my bike at age 6 and knocked my 2 front teeth out.

Whiplash can cause significant pain. You may have headaches, neck pain, upper back pain, shoulder pain and tingling in your arms.

Whiplash hurts; the sooner you get treatment, the sooner you will feel better. How can physical therapy help? Our physical therapists can massage injured muscles, for example, the muscles pictured to the right.

We will also give customized gentle exercises to get your muscles back on the path to recovery. Other treatments designed to reduce the pain such as ultrasound, electric stimulation and cold laser can be provided. We can coordinate care with other providers such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists as needed.

At Comstock Physical Therapy the Muscles In-Sync approach reduces muscle spasms, increases mobility and increases strength.

Science tells us with whiplash the core muscles in your neck become out of sync or out of order. They need to be retrained to contract in the right order, then strengthening will be a lot less painful and your results will last.

Why is there a need for a "special" training program? If you have whiplash the normal sequence of the muscles contracting becomes disordered. Normally the core muscles contract to make your neck stable, then large muscles (sternocleidomastoid and scalenes) pull on the neck to rotate it or pull on your neck as you lift your arm.

After whiplash, large muscles (the big ones you can see on the sides of your neck) contract first to splint the neck. The problem is, the right order of muscle contraction does not come back and the large muscles (sternocleidomastoid

and scalenes ) keep contracting, which causes headaches (see the headache referral pattern for sternocleidomastoid) and arm tingling and pain (see the scalene brachial plexus picture below). We will massage these muscles to help them relax and retrain.

>What can you try at home to help this pain?  Nod your head in little tiny nods, like you are nodding "yes" to getting better. Also, ice is helpful after you first hurt your neck and heat for stiff muscles.

 

 

Give us a call at 360-455-8014 to schedule an appointment to get relief from your whiplash pain!