As a rule, a short period of rest of up to three days is prescribed today for the treatment of bather trauma. The patient should avoid strenuous work, long periods of sitting, strong vibrations, etc. As soon as improvement after whiplash injury occurs, a return to normal daily activities should take place as soon as possible.
Additionally the healing process can be supported by physiotherapeutic therapy and exercises. In the acute stage of whiplash, strong massages should be avoided as well as manipulative treatments (e.g. chirotherapeutic interventions). This therapy leads to an increase in symptoms in this stage.
How useful is a neck brace?
While in the past, a neck brace was often prescribed in the case of an existing whiplash injury, scientific studies have shown that the extreme, sometimes quite long-lasting protection provided by immobilization delays the healing of the whiplash injury. In cases where the pain persists even over a longer period of time, chirotherapeutic treatment can be approached. However, as mentioned above, this should not be considered in the acute phase.
Especially in cases where the whiplash injury as a result of a nerve receptor injury makes itself felt in the form of nausea and dizziness, manual therapy is recommended. Acupuncture can have a pain-relieving effect in cases of permanent tension. Each form of therapy in the area of whiplash injury is based on the respective individual complaints.
This is called a symptomatic therapy of whiplash. During the therapy of whiplash trauma you can initially achieve pain relief and possibly also a reduction of swelling by cooling phases of about 15 to 20 minutes each. For this purpose you place an ice pack or a cool pack (available in every pharmacy), which you have wrapped in a towel before, on the painful body part.
Avoid direct contact with the cool pack and pause after a cooling phase. In case your whiplash injury symptoms are still present in the next few days, you should seek conservative therapy, possibly with physiotherapeutic support. You can also do many exercises yourself.
Some pain-relieving, usually stretching exercises are presented to you below. It is important for all exercises that you assume a comfortable position in which your back is kept relatively straight. You can achieve this, for example, by leaning against a wall with slightly bent knees.
Stretching exercises are characterized by the fact that they are performed slowly and carefully. Soothing music can provide additional relaxation.
- Therapy exercise: Take the starting position described above and tilt your head forward.
Try to push the chin to the chest. Then slowly return to the starting position.
- Therapy exercise: From the same position you can stretch the lateral muscles. To do this, move the head sideways so that the right ear is pulled to the right shoulder (and the left side accordingly, of course).
Hold this position for a few seconds and then slowly return to the starting position.
- Therapy exercise: Take the starting position described above. Now move your head only. The rest of the body does not move.
Turn your head in direction of the right shoulder. Your eyes remain at the height of the starting position and try to look over the right shoulder. After a few seconds of stretching, turn your head back to the starting position and perform the exercise towards the other side.
- Therapy Exercise: After taking up the starting position, imagine a large clock hanging directly in front of you.
You look alternately at the 12, 3, 6, 9 (variations are possible here). Make sure that your head does not move. Only your eyes are working and cause the deeper lying neck muscles to move with you.
- Therapy exercise: Turn in an upright position with your face towards the wall.
Now try to hold a soft ball against the wall with your forehead. Starting from this position, circle the ball. You can also do this in the opposite position.
Then it is not your forehead that holds the ball against the wall, but the back of your head.
- Therapy exercise: Take a straight posture. Tilt your head slightly back. Be careful not to lift your shoulder muscles when doing this. Slowly return to the starting position after a stretching phase.
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