Whiplash Injuries: Tips on how to manage neck pain from a Physiotherapist
Whether from a car accident or skiing, mountain biking or falling on ice in the winter, whiplash is a common injury that can lead to neck pain. As physiotherapists, we are trained to support you throughout your recovery from whiplash injuries. In this blog, we will walk you through an overview of whiplash including what it is, its symptoms, and what you can due to optimize your recovery.
What is Whiplash?
Whiplash occurs when your body is moving and then comes to a sudden stop. This leads to a quick acceleration and then deceleration of your neck.
Whiplash can injure various tissues in the neck, including the muscles, joints, ligaments, discs, bones and nerves. With the proper support and rehabilitation, you are able to fully recover from this injury. This starts with proper rehabilitation day 1 of your injury.
What are the symptoms of Whiplash?
The most common symptoms of Whiplash are:
Neck Pain
Neck Stiffness or loss of motion
Additional symptoms can include:
Headaches
Dizziness
Upper back pain
Arm pain
Arm numbness/tingling
Arm Weakness
If you experience any of the above symptoms it is recommended you see your local physiotherapist.
Red Flags:
Whiplash can lead to significant trauma, and if there is a risk of a more serious injury, you need to be examined by a doctor. If you experience any of the following symptoms, please report them to a health professional or visit the emergency department at your local hospital.
Pins and needles on both sides of your body or in your arms and legs
Numbness on your face
Gait disturbances
Progressive worsening of sensation or weakness problems
Drop attacks/fainting
Difficulty speaking or swallowing
Vision disturbances (ex. double vision)
Dizziness (ex. feeling like the world is shaking or spinning)
Bowel or bladder issues
What are the First Steps of Managing Whiplash?
While Whiplash related neck pain can be frustrating and uncomfortable, there are several strategies that can help to manage it, alleviate it, and get you back to the activities you love quickly. Here are some tips from a physical therapist on how to manage a whiplash injury and neck pain:
Move Your Neck Early, Move your Neck Often
One of the first things any physiotherapist will tell you is that when you're in pain, you need to move. Moving helps with pain management for a variety of reasons. Movement helps desensitize the area, leading to less pain. Movement helps bring blood and nutrients to the area and helps flush away anything we don’t want. When in pain, I will often get people to move their neck gently for 1min every hour they are awake. You can move your neck in any direction that feels tolerable. Mild discomfort during your movement is ok!
2. Move your Body
When we move our body we naturally move our neck as well. This is a great opportunity to get some gentle neck movement in. Go for a walk, a bike, an easy cross-country ski, or a snowshoe. Do any activity that you are comfortable doing with your neck pain, that you are not worried about irritating your neck too much. Not only does activity move your neck, but exercise has an analgesic (or pain-relief) effect due to a variety of endorphins and neurochemicals released during exercise
3. Avoid bracing your neck
As we have talked about above, when your neck is in pain you need to move. Bracing holds your neck in a single position for an extended period and can prolong your recovery. The only exception to this is if your doctor or paramedic had put you in a hard collar for any reason.
4. Heat or Ice
Try heat and cold therapy. Heat and cold can be effective in reducing neck pain. Try using a heating pad or hot water bottle to apply heat to the area, or use a cold pack or bag of frozen vegetables to apply cold. Place the heat or cold on for 15-20 minutes. The heat/cold should be off a minimum of double the time that it was on before replacing it. For example; place it on for 20mins, then off for 40mins. Check the skin frequently to ensure that you have good sensation and that there are no signs of burns or frostbite.
There has been a lot of debate as to what is best, heat or ice. The answer is simple; whatever feels best for you. Heat and ice both act mainly as pain-relieving mechanisms, so whatever feels best at relieving pain is going to be the most helpful for your body.
5. Stretching your neck
The amount of movement in your neck can be reduced after a whiplash injury. Specific stretches can help improve your range of motion. Working through your full range of motion is essential to regaining your neck function.
You need your full range of motion to perform tasks such as checking your blind spot in your car, looking around for your teammates during a sport, or getting something out of the top cupboard in your kitchen.
Your physical therapist can work with you to develop a stretching plan to make sure you gain your range of motion back without irritating your neck tissues more.
6. Strengthening your neck
Strengthening your neck is often a missing piece of the puzzle in neck rehabilitation. Strengthening is regarded as an essential peice of the puzzle when we think about other areas; for example: an injured bicep muscle. During rehab we calm the tissue down and then strengthen the muscle to build it back up to the strength it was before. This makes the area less likely to get injured again. Despite this knowledge, strengthening is often looked over when it comes to neck rehabilitation.
Neck Strengthening is an essential piece of rehabilitation after a neck injury. Once we calm the neck down we need to build the injured tissues back up so they were as strong as before (or stronger!) to prevent future neck issues. If you have injured an area once, you are more likely to injure it again unless the muscles around it are back to stronger than they were before the initial injury.
Your Physiotherapist can work with you to customize a neck strengthening routine for you to help get you back to what you love.
7. Visit a Physiotherapist for your neck pain
Call in and make an appointment with your local physiotherapist as soon as possible after your injury. Early management can lead to improved recovery time, getting you back to what you love faster.
Right after your injury is when your injured tissues are at their most adaptable, as they are undergoing a rapid healing process. The quicker a physiotherapist can be involved in the process, the quicker you will receive care and advice that is customized to you and your injury.
Your physio will work with you to make a plan customized to your injury and your goals. This may include a combination of education, specific exercises, manual therapy, or other modalities.
Conclusion
If you have just had a whiplash injury it is important to move early and move often in any way you feel able. It may feel slightly uncomfortable to do in the short term, but it will help your healing process in the long run if you keep your neck moving early on.
If you're struggling with neck pain, it is important to seek the advice of a physiotherapist or other medical professional. A physiotherapist can assess your condition, provide personalized advice, and develop a customized treatment plan to help you manage your pain, improve your overall health and well-being, and get you back to what you love.
If you need support, don't hesitate to call us, email us, or book online.
