Dealing with Whiplash
If you have recently been in a car accident, then you might be trying to find out ways to successfully mitigate the painful effects of whiplash on your neck. While this kind of auto accident injury is frustrating to deal with, your treatment options are vast if you are patient and can avoid straining yourself for a few days. In this article, we’ll go over all of your options to get you back into working order in no time.
Apply Cool and Heated Material to Your Neck
Whiplash can induce pain and swelling in your neck. To reduce this, you’ll want to apply an ice compression (ice wrapped in a towel) for 15 minutes every two hours for up to one week after the accident. By doing this, you will numb the pain and reduce swelling in the central neck region where the pain is probably the greatest. Once you have properly reduced the swelling in this region, you’ll want to apply heated pressure to the injury site once the swelling has gone down. This will be instrumental in providing movement and flexibility to your neck as numbing it from the ice will set in a kind of stiffness. Applying heat pressure from a warm towel or a steamed bath stimulates the muscles in the area to start to move more freely reducing the stiffness.
Take Painkillers
While we do not recommend this option off the top, if you have iced and heated your neck but are still feeling the pain, then your whiplash was most likely more traumatic than the average situation would dictate. Make sure you have been to the doctor and they have “ok-ed” your decision to invest in painkillers. Ibuprofen brands like Advil and Motrin, as well as naproxen aka Aleve, have been proven to reduce the pain and swelling that comes along with instances of Whiplash. You’ll want to be careful with painkillers because, at the end of the day, they are drugs and have risks associated with them.
Visit a Chiropractor
Probably your number one treatment option against whiplash would be to visit a clinic that is specialized in chiropractic care. A licensed chiropractor in Garner, Cleveland has the tools and expertise to apply the proper message techniques to generate flexibility as well as reduce the pain in the exact location where Whiplash caused the most harm. They can also apply neck braces and collars that can lead to proper healing in your neck region.
If you’ve been in a car accident recently, don’t hesitate to take the steps above. The faster you respond, the quicker you will be able to regain function in your neck as well as lessen the pain. Contact us for an appointment today.
