Treatment of Whiplash Injury
Treatment of Whiplash Injury
There are several people who get some form of neck injury, which leads to the painful neck. A whiplash injury is one of the commonest types of injury that happens in a road traffic accident, especially when the car is hit from behind. A sudden jolt involves the head and neck which moves them forward and backward. Due to this sudden jolt in the head and neck region, the muscles of the neck develop inflammation and swelling.
Although the pain doesn’t start during first 24 hours, however; the symptoms including pain become inevitable after this short window period. In addition, there are several patients who develop neck pain even after years. During the initial phase, the pain remains unbearable and a patient would not be able to move his neck freely. However; with the passage of time the pain diminishes. There are several modes of treatment, which reduce the pain, swelling and inflammation in the muscles of the neck, which result due to a whiplash injury. Followings are few of the treatment modalities in this regard.
• In order to reduce inflammation at the muscles of the neck, icing is recommended. The ice packs should be applied on daily basis for at least half an hour. A patient may find immediate relief from icing. His pain and discomfort could be reduced and he becomes able to move the neck freely. When icing is done, the generation of chemical substances stops, the excess fluid collected in the injured tissue is lost and the swelling starts to reduce considerably.
• Painkillers like Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are important since they not only provide relief from pain but also decrease inflammation. There are several types of NSAIDs, however; the doctor decides which type of drug would be suitable for which group of people.
• The application of hot packs is also important, once the inflammation or swelling subsides. The heat application increases the blood circulation to that particular area, and hence the healing is accelerated.
• The next step in the treatment of a whiplash injury is the application of interferential pain machine along with warm packs. Considerable reduction in pain, inflammation or swelling could be obtained by means of this method. If interferential pain machine is unavailable, then standard TENS machine could be used in order to get the same results.
• Along with these treatment modalities, rest, physiotherapy and application of a cervical collar would also be beneficial in the treatment of pain in the neck due to a whiplash injury.
This article is provided for information purposes only. Please consult a doctor for treatment options. This article is not written by a doctor or checked for accuracy by a physician.
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