Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by sudden, forcible back and forth motion. Injury may be to the cervical vertebrae or their associated ligaments and muscles. Read on to find in more detail about whiplash and how can massage help.
What causes whiplash?
Vehicle accidents, falls, sporting injuries, being hit, kicked or shaken can all cause whiplash.
Violent back and forth movement of the head and neck can result in whiplash. This is damaging to the cervical vertebrae and/or associated tissues. Whiplash is usually includes the spine from the neck to the mid-back.
Symptoms appear directly after injury or in the days following. Pain and aching in the neck and back, referred pain to the shoulders, pins and needles in the arms, dizziness, headaches and occasionally nausea.
Doctor examination will to rule out any possible bone fractures and any other serious injury.
Whiplash is a sprain/strain injury. Do not apply heat to the area for the first 12 to 72 hours. Instead apply ice during this time to ease pain and inflammation.
Whiplash can be treated with massage, once serious injury has been ruled out.
How can massage help?
Massage will reduce tension in the muscles of the neck, ease trigger points and increase range of motion in the neck. It will also ease pain and symptoms of dizziness and help increase blood and oxygen flow to the injured site, speeding up the healing process.
Your massage therapist will take a detailed history of your injury. It’s a good idea to take along any reports or written consent from your GP to the massage therapist. They will test the range of your neck to see where the restrictions are.
They will then use a range of modalities such as deep tissue massage and trigger point therapy to treat the taught bands and trigger points through the neck.
Read more… How massage can ease neck pain
