If you have had whiplash, chances are that you’re familiar with the neck soreness that comes afterwards. It’s surprising to people that whiplash can take a few days to actually set in after the incident. Signs that you’ve had whiplash after an incident include:
- Neck soreness
- Dizziness
- Headaches and/or vertigo
- Fatigue
- Stiffness in the neck and/or shoulders
Are you familiar with these symptoms?
If you answered yes to the above, chances are that you’ve had whiplash. Most of the pain that comes from whiplash subsides with time. Even though the pain subsides, you may be left with some of these symptoms unless the right steps are taken to correct it. With whiplash it’s estimated that 50% of people will continue to have some form of neck discomfort, headaches, or dizziness. The risk of this can be minimized with the right treatment approach.
The right treatment approach will help you to:
- Address dizziness
- Address headaches
- Address stiffness
- And avoid the #1 mistake doctors make when treating whiplash
How can whiplash cause dizziness?
What happens during a whiplash incident, is the muscles that hold the head to the neck are stretched very quickly. This causes small tears in the muscle. The muscles then tighten as a protective mechanism. If the muscles on one side of your neck are tight, and the muscles on the other side or not, this causes your brain to misinterpret where your head is. The muscles on the tight side are telling the brain the head is turned one way, while the muscles on the other side of the neck are telling it the opposite. The brain then tries to make adjustments with your eyes and vestibular system. These adjustments result in you feeling dizzy or woozy.
You can read more about neck pain here and more about the main causes of dizziness here.
https://www.welcomebackclinic.com/blog/Whiplash—Neck-Injury.htm
How can whiplash cause headaches?
When the muscles in the neck tighten up, they compress nerves and joints near the head and neck. When the nerves and joints are compressed they send off pain signals. These pain signals can give you headaches as well as facial pain in your forehead, cheek, and jaw. Many times these are misinterpreted as migraines and people become frustrated that migraine medicine only partially helps.
What can be done about it?
In order to not be one of the 50% who still have these symptoms, you need a whiplash specialist. When treating whiplash, many practitioners make the #1 mistake of focusing on pain, and range of motion. They are mostly concerned with getting rid of the stiffness. Good practitioners will also add strength re-training for the neck muscles. This allows the muscles to recover from the tearing.
A whiplash specialist will include both strength, and range of motion, but they’ll also add coordination. This is what helps your brain, head, and neck to all communicate better until they agree on where your head is in space. This is what prevents dizziness, and prevents muscles from tightening on one side of your neck. That’s precisely what we do at DPT.
How Can Working With An Expert At DPT Help Fix Your Whiplash?
- We are experts at identifying the root cause of your issue. We are also experts at explaining what that root cause is, in a language you can understand.
- We can improve your pain usually within a couple of sessions.
- We can help you get back your focus. Whiplash and neck pain can cause serious issues concentrating – we can help you get re-engaged in your life.
- We can help you sleep better. Pain can cause difficulty finding comfortable positions to sleep, and when you can’t sleep you can’t heal. It’s a vicious cycle.
- We can give you peace of mind knowing that you aren’t doomed to a life of neck pain, headaches, and dizziness.
- Basically, we help you get your life back. Free from annoying daily whiplash effects.
If you’d like to know what it costs, and our availability, please click the button below and complete our short form.
