Whiplash Injury Treatment
Whiplash
Whiplash injuries frequently happen due to car accidents can occur if the vehicle has been struck from the back, front, or side. Whiplash can also occur from other injuries, such as sports-related injuries, or other neck-disturbing traumas.
At the Physiotherapy Professionals Parramatta, we seen numerous patients from Parramatta suffering from whiplash or whiplash-associated Injuries. Once treatment commences, with our expert headache clinicians, we expect a significant improvement to occur rapidly in 90% of our patients with whiplash headaches, within the first 5-6 treatment consultations.
Our clinicians are experts in assessing the neck and head and if we don’t think our treatment can help you, we will let you know after the initial consultation. However, our treatment can help the vast majority of whiplash patients and our medicine-free and surgery-free treatment is effective and provides long-term results. Book your appointment today!
If your whiplash injury took place due to any type of motor vehicle accident, your treatment can be covered under a CTP claim. See our guide on CTP claims by clicking here: Car Accident Physiotherapy. Or give us a call to discuss further.
What is Whiplash and How Does It Feel
Whiplash is an injury to your muscles, tendons or other soft tissues of your neck and is categorised as an energy transfer mechanism of acceleration and deceleration into the neck.
Pain from a whiplash often occurs several hours after the initial injury whereby pain, stiffness, swelling and bruising increases over the subsequent days. See below symptoms to find out more about how it feels to have whiplash.
Injuries sustained from whiplash usually results in a bony, muscular or ligamentous dysfunction typically in the cervical joints of the neck.
These injuries can cause mild to severe headaches and migraines depending on the extent of the injury. Those with this injury may result in headaches and migraines on one side of the head in a focal point, or even both sides. Symptoms can spread down to the neck, shoulders, arms and upper back.
During severe injuries, those with whiplash injuries may experience NTS (neck tongue syndrome) – this is where a significant trauma has disturbed the upper 3 cervical vertebrae to the point of possible rupture to the ligaments and dislocation or instability of the vertebrae. Those with NTS will report numbness and a tingling sensation to one half of their tongue, pain in the neck and head region.
Risk factors of developing headaches following trauma to the head and/or neck
According to the International Headache Society, the following may contribute to the likelihood of developing headaches following trauma to the head and/or neck (such as from a whiplash injury).
• Previous history of headache
• Less severe injury to the head and/or neck
• Being female
• Presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders
How Do Whiplash (Motor Vehicle Accident) Injuries Cause Headaches?
Whiplash injuries can cause significant headaches and migraines. Due to the mechanism of a whiplash injury, the cervical spine is typically affected which results in a sensitised brainstem.
The brainstem, specifically the Trigemino-Cervical nucleus, receives signals from various areas of the head via the Trigeminal nerve, and the neck via the Cervical afferent nerves. Due to injury, this often causes, what is most easily explained as, confusion in the Trigemino-Cervical nucleus. This is interpreted as a “danger” to various areas of the head, and therefore causes pain in the head (usually accompanied by neck pain) in the form of a headache or migraine.
Around half of the patients who come to see us, report some form of neck injury in the past, which has precipitated their headaches and migraines. Most often, trauma to the neck such as whiplash injuries can induce many different forms of headaches and migraines such as:
- Chronic Daily Headache
- Tension Type Headache
- Migraine Headache
- Hormonal Headache
- Menstrual Migraine
- Cluster Headache
- Cervicogenic Headache
- Sinus Headache
- Vertigo Cervical Headache
Contact Us:
Do you need assistance with your Physiotherapy treatment? Experienced team of Physiotherapists with essential knowledge. You can call us anytime to have a confidential discussion with our expert Physiotherapists. For more information on how we can further assist you, please call our clinic number on 0479 080 800 or send us an email on [email protected] for further details. Our Physiotherapists are Medicare, NDIS, and Work Cover approved, specialising in injury management and rehabilitation to get you back on track.
Physiotherapy After A Car Accident