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Schedule a tour nowIs Massage Therapy Helpful for Whiplash?
Posted on: December 6, 2019
Treating Whiplash with Massage Therapy
Whether you rear-ended a vehicle in front of you, fell down a flight of stairs, or weren't properly fastened into an amusement park ride, whiplash is a painful consequence of putting your body through physical distress. Both acute and chronic, this injury can create muscle tightness, immobility, and pain. A term used since the late 1920s, whiplash is used to describe what is essentially a "hyperextension" of the neck - the sudden movement of the neck quickly toward and then quickly away from an impact point. Because the muscles do not have the time to loosen or contract, both muscles and ligaments may suffer from hyperextension - being bent too far in one or more directions.
While certain types of whiplash injuries can be severe and long-lasting, the good news is the majority of these injuries cause only superficial damage - minor muscle strain and sprain. Still, such physical damage, particularly when nerve compression occurs, as a result, can be incredibly painful, and many injured persons end up seeking treatment for whiplash after its symptoms -- muscle pain and muscle tightness -- set in.
Symptoms of whiplash
Most people do not need a doctor to tell them they have sustained whiplash in a collision or other accident resulting in physical injury - they can feel it themselves in the form of neck stiffness, neck pain, pain that radiates to the shoulders and the back, and even headaches and migraines. Unfortunately, whiplash symptoms can take up to two or even three days to set in, by which point many people have already returned to work and regular routines - routines which can, unfortunately, aggravate whiplash injuries.
Successfully treat whiplash with massage therapy.
Massage therapy is an effective tool in treating the symptoms of whiplash, and even in preventing long-term damage from setting in. Used for all points of the body, therapy serves to relax clients and their muscles and to encourage clients to use the time of the massage as a time to relax and take a reprieve from the real world.
During massage therapy, increased amounts of oxygen are directed to injured areas, which can assist with quicker healing. But just as importantly, tight, sore muscles are encouraged to relax, which can go a long way in alleviating pain. In a setting such as a day spa, the use of heat and/or water can enhance the pain relief that therapy provides.
Doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, and your local licensed massage therapist have long known the benefits of therapy for whiplash, so if you find yourself suffering from the effects of whiplash, reach out to such a medical professional for beneficial massage.
