4 steps to whiplash recovery

Whiplash: Cervical Acceleration-Deceleration

Whiplash is commonly caused by car collision, however this isn’t the only cause. Any activity that causes the head to quickly accelerate or decelerate in hyperextension and hyperflexion can cause symptoms of whiplash. For example contact sports, horse-riding, falling off a bicycle… to name a few.

Symptoms include:

Muscle spasm
Pain or discomfort when breathing, shortness of breath
Numbness or pins and needles in the arms
Pain in the arms, shoulders, neck or lower back
Vision problems (blurred vision)
Ringing in ears (tinnitus)
Chronic Headaches
TMJ – pain in the temporomandibular joint
Vertebral Disc damage
Pain in wrists, symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome

How to treat whiplash with Remedial Massage:

Step 1: Book in for regular Remedial Massage treatment. Your ligaments and muscles have been traumatised by the impact. To recover, your ligaments and muscles will need sufficient blood circulation for muscle fibres to heal preventing scar adhesions. It is also extremely important to continue regular massage treatment throughout your life.

Step 2: Place a heat pack on your back every night as necessary. Again, increasing blood circulation through traumatised muscles will improve healing capacity and relieve pain.

Step 3: Repeat the above steps. I treat whiplash regularly, patients who experienced an accident 3 years ago to 18 years ago. All of the patients I treat need regular treatment. They comment ‘after 3 to 4 weeks I start to feel my back seize up, the muscles spasm in my neck and shoulders and I have a persistent headache- then I know I need to book in for my monthly massage’.

Regular Remedial Massage therapy for whiplash symptoms will: relieve pain, reduce muscle spasms and prevent headaches; maintain range of motion, maintain spinal flexibility; increase blood circulation to muscle fibre tears and prevent scar adhesions.

Step 4: Spinal care exercises. At Soul Art Yoga I provide Spinal care exercises based on Oki-Do_Yoga a Japanese self-care series of 29 movements for each vertebrae.

Remedial massage is an effective way to alleviate the symptoms caused from a whiplash accident. It is important for your spinal health and associated muscles in the back, neck and shoulders to receive regular remedial massage therapy. If left untreated other chronic symptoms may develop such as:

You may become vulnerable to repetitive strain injury (RSI) if your occupation requires repetitive movement from the group of muscles traumatised by the accident. For example keyboarding may create RSI, which will then lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Chronic to acute migraines
Sciatica
Pain in the sacroiliac joint (SIJ)
Pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
Thyroid imbalance