Physiotherapy For Whiplash

Don’t let your whiplash injury lead to long-term or chronic shoulder, upper back or neck pain!

By getting physiotherapy treatment for a whiplash injury as soon as you can, you’ll be able to return to activity sooner and avoid chronic, long-term pain. However, even if you already have an ongoing history of pain from a whiplash injury, the team at Proactive Physiotherapy are here to help.

What causes whiplash?

Whiplash is the general term for any injury to the tendons, muscles and soft tissues in your neck. It’s usually caused by a vigorous and sudden movement of your head or body in one direction, immediately followed by movement in the opposite direction.

This sudden movement can be backwards, forwards or sideways and is most commonly caused by:

• The impact of a car accident, especially when a car hits you from behind
• Snowboarding and skiing accidents
• Amusement park rides
• Contact sports injuries
• Falls
• Physical abuse, assaults and attacks
• Head banging

Whiplash is a musculoskeletal injury that causes microtrauma in your neck and subsequently leads to neck pain and a range of other symptoms.

What are the common symptoms of whiplash?

Although you might immediately experience the effects of whiplash after sustaining an injury, in many cases symptoms might take hours, or even days, to appear.

If you have whiplash you may develop one or more of the following symptoms, usually within the first few days after the injury:

• Pain, tenderness or stiffness in your neck muscles with reduced range of motion
• Headache that often starts in the base of your skull
• Pain and aching in your shoulder or between your shoulder blades
• Lower back pain
• Body stiffness, especially when waking in the morning
• Tingling, pins and needles, pain or numbness in your arms and your hands
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty concentrating or remembering
• Fatigue, irritability and sleep disturbances

How physiotherapy treats whiplash injuries

At Proactive Physiotherapy, our experienced physiotherapists can assess your neck, upper back, shoulders and upper limbs to determine the best treatment plan for your whiplash injury.

We will show you pain modulation techniques and strength exercises to relieve your pain symptoms, increase your function and decrease your risk of suffering from long-term neck and upper limb problems.

Our physiotherapy treatment for whiplash involves a mix of passive and active treatments to ensure a successful recovery from whiplash.

Passive treatments we may use include deep tissue massage, hot and cold therapies and ultrasound to increase blood circulation and healing, while active treatments for whiplash include exercises for strength, motion and posture correction to help reduce muscle spasms, increase blood circulation, and promote healing of your neck tissues.

To find out more about our physiotherapy for whiplash injuries, get in touch with our team today.