When the spine’s soft tissue is stretched and strained due to a sudden jerk in the cervical spine, or neck area, whiplash occurs. It is a very painful condition that severely hampers your quality of life. However, the good news is that whiplash is very treatable. Most or all of the symptoms eventually go away. Once the symptoms disappear, patients can typically go about their normal daily routines and engage in whatever physical activity they are used to.

The first step in treatment is usually the implementation of a cervical collar (this is one of those collars that goes around the neck and stabilizes and relieves the aggravated muscle groups. The doctor will usually instruct the patient to wear this collar for 2 to 3 weeks.

Other treatments include heat therapy to loosen up the muscles, taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (known as NSAIDs), like ibuprofen and naproxen, to reduce inflamed tissues. Other possible treatments include prescription muscle relaxers, physical therapy, and range of motion exercises.

For many patients, the symptoms of whiplash only take a few weeks to go away. However, there are those who have ongoing symptoms such as headaches and stiffness. In case like these, a doctor may prescribe a local anesthetic injection. This is frequently all that’s needed to give the patient enough mobility to undergo physical therapy.

In rare cases, if the patient still suffers pain and stiffness, the doctor may request x-rays to see if a more severe injury has occurred within the cervical spine. In some cases of whiplash, there can be damage to the vertebral discs, which can cause discs to bulge and press upon the nerves that are close to the spine. This can result in a lot of pain, and will require treatments that go beyond the whiplash diagnosis.

What is Whiplash?