How to Care For and Treat Whiplash Injury
Whiplash, also known as neck strain, is an excruciating and aching experience where a sufferer finds it difficult to move his/her neck. Even though, this injury is linked to the car accidents, but the unexpected strong jerk of your head in the forward or backward direction as a result of any impact or blow can cause Whiplash Injury. You might not feel this injury on the spot, but its symptoms can take one to two days to develop. Firmness, ache, soreness, back pain and headaches are some of the major symptoms of this injury. It is very important to care for treat the Whiplash Injury on emergency basis. If it lasts for a longer time, it will convert into a “chronic whiplash” or even “whiplash syndrome.” Fortunately, there are some very simple procedures to treat Whiplash Injury that you can carry out yourself at home.
Instructions
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1
Ice you Injured Neck
The moment you experienced Whiplash Injury, place an ice pack or cold compress on your neck and hold for 15 to 20 minutes in order to reduce the ache and swelling. Carry on this simple treatment first two days, applying ice after every 3 to 4 hours. -
2
Try Hot Pack
At the end of the second day (48 hours), start treating your injured neck with hot pack. It helps in trimming down the muscle tension and stimulating blood circulation in the affected area. Place a hot pack on your neck and hold it for 5 minutes. Repeat it after every half an hour or one hour. -
3
Take Anti-inflammatory Medication
Don’t for the severe pain to start, and take some anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce the chances of tenderness as a result of Whiplash Injury. You can consider Aleve, Ibuprofen, Tylenol and Advil etc for this purpose. -
4
Maintain Good Posture
Try to keep up a proper up-right posture while walking, sitting, standing or sleeping is really important to overcome the Whiplash Injury. If you spend more time on computer, then you should position the screen and chair appropriately to find relaxed position for your injured neck. -
5
Sleep with a proper posture
You really have to be careful while sleeping with a Whiplash Injury. Use an especially designed support pillow, collar or neck brace for backing your aching neck when sleeping. -
6
Try Neck Exercises and Stretches
Practice some controlled exercises and stretches in order to relief the pain, strengthen your neck’s muscles and improve posture. The three simple neck exercises on your right hand sides are superb choices to start with. -
7
See a doctor
The Whiplash Injury and pain should have been gone by the end of one or two weeks. However, if you are still suffering from it, then it is better to consult a good doctor or therapist in order to fix the issue through prescribed medical treatments.
