Generally, body aches can disturb your whole routine. When you face these aches, doing the simplest chores become troublesome. It is an undeniable fact that the worst body pain is neck pain. If you experience neck pains, you can barely stand still, sit, or even sleep. Every time when there is a powerful blow due to this, your head jerks in a forward or backward direction can result in a neck strain.
Characteristically, a forceful, sudden back-and-forth movement causes neck strain. Commonly, it is called whiplash as it is similar to the sound of a whip cracking. Mostly, after having a rear-end car crash, an individual may experience this condition. Still, a road accident is not the only reason that originates such neck strains. Accidents can take place during sports, physical abuse, and different kinds of traumas. For instance, a bad fall can give rise to it.
In simple words, some people call it a neck sprain or a neck strain. Although both of these terms include various neck injuries, whiplash is not really a neck injury. In short, the sudden impact stretches the neck muscles and tendons that cause muscle tear.
Within some weeks of whiplash, you may get better by appropriate treatment by a trained professional. A whiplash doctor makes a relevant plan that you need to follow punctually. Moreover, it includes some medications for pain and physical exercises. In the majority of cases, these two are the best methods to cure whiplash.
Though some people suffer from chronic neck pains, they may need special care. And, such patients may have long-lasting complications. On top of that, beginners and professional athletes frequently experience this condition. Those who play sports in which some kind of contact takes place between the players like soccer have higher possibilities of getting whiplash.
Interestingly, neck strains and neck sprains are different anatomically. When there is damage to the muscle or tendons of your neck, it is known as neck strain. Furthermore, for those who don’t know, tendons are bands of tissue that joins muscles to our bones. On the other hand, when you end up tearing the ligaments of your body, you will experience a neck sprain. Similarly, the ligament is explained as the tissues that successfully connect the bones to one other.
What Are The Signs Of Whiplash?
The individual may start showing the signs of Whiplash in a day or two after the injury. The signs may develop right after the injury, or it can take weeks or even months. It depends upon the severity of the case. The major signs of the strain include pain in the back and neck. Other major signs that the person may experience from whiplash are as follows:
● Inability to move neck or cracking back pain
● dizziness
● Constant exhaustion
● Headaches at the inferior part of the brain
● Blurred or hazy vision
● Disc slip may also occur in severe cases
In addition to the above signs, a person having Whiplash may also experience some minor signs. These include:
● Insomnia
● Tinnitus
● Decreased concentration span
● Forgetfulness
However, if the person is only experiencing the minor signs, then it may not be Whiplash. In either case, consultation with a good doctor is recommended.
What Is The Worst That Can Occur With Whiplash?
If the condition is not treated immediately, it can worsen with time and can severely affect the other parts of the body. Whiplash injury can become critical when a person starts to have the following symptoms:
● Complete inability to move the head
● Excessive weakness
● Full body pain and discomfort
How Is The Whiplash Diagnosis Done?
The doctor may perform any of the following tests to diagnose the strain:
An x-ray may be performed to eliminate the chances of bone fracture.
CT scans or MRI tests may be done by the health professional to detect any possible inflammation in the tissues and ligament injury.
Why Is It Not A Good Idea To Ignore Whiplash?
It is never a smart decision to ignore your medical conditions. In order to get back into their routines faster, many accident victims do not pay attention to body pains. Immediately after an accident, many victims do not face any symptoms, or even after several days, they have no issue regarding their health. One of the main reasons for this ignorance is that the doctor you may consult in the ER prescribes painkillers to accident survivors.
Because of this, the symptoms do not appear for some time. Also, to some extent, these pain killers offer temporary relief from body aches. But, these are Analgesic medications that numb the affected muscles. Thus, the root cause of whiplash trauma remains untreated.
On this note, it is nearly impossible for a victim to recover from whiplash trauma without suitable measures. So, you must get help from a specialist to diagnose whiplash. Only then, you may get a beneficial treatment.
Effective Ways To Treat Whiplash
When the doctors diagnose the disorder, they prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxers. Another effective way is to applying heat to the affected area. As a consequence, the heat helps in loosening the stiff muscles.
The main goal of these treatments is to gain your range of motion again without wasting a single day. In the physical therapy sessions, the complete focus is on stretching, rotation of the muscles, and back and forth movement of the neck. It is a good option to wear a soft foam neck collar if your neck pain is intolerable.
One drawback of the neck collar is that it slightly immobilizes the joints. To lessen the pain, there are some exercises that you can do at home. These exercises include the rotation of your neck slowly. Tilting your head side to side to your shoulder is a great exercise as well. Likewise, move your neck towards your chest in the forward direction and then take it backward. Finally, rolling your shoulder in circles is excellent for relaxing your muscles.
Remember, these exercises are to alleviate your neck pain. Hence, do it to stretch your muscle only. After a period of three months, if your condition doesn’t improve, make an appointment with your whiplash doctor.
Whiplash Treatment Conclusion
Note that, seeing a whiplash doctor after an automobile accident is mandatory. Otherwise, you cannot expect to recover fully. Also, you are putting yourself at risk of severe symptoms if you take it lightly. In a worst-case scenario, this trauma may lead to disability. Once the symptoms intensify, it becomes harder to treat the disorder. In contrast, if you manage the pain at the onset of the symptoms, you will notice a speedy recovery.
