Whiplash- Injuries Athletic Therapists Treat: A Monthly Series
Welcome to our monthly series!
Our goal is to share with YOU how Athletic Therapy can help you recover from common injuries you or a loved one may be experiencing. Each month will showcase and discuss a new condition athletic therapists see and treat each day
Enjoy!
Whiplash is an injury to your neck. Healthcare professionals refer to conditions that happen due to whiplash as ‘whiplash-associated disorders (WAD)’. It is due to rapid back and forth motion of the head and neck and usually involves damage to the soft tissue structures such as the neck muscles, cervical discs, ligaments and nerves. The sharper and stronger the motion, the greater the force on your neck and more severe the injury can be.
Whiplash injuries are most common in motor-vehicle accidents, but can occur in sporting events (hit from behind in hockey), physical abuse and other types of trauma such as a fall. As you can see, you do not have to get hit in the head or neck to get injured
Signs and symptoms of whiplash may appear immediately or take several hours or days to show.
In most cases people who have a whiplash injury recover within a few weeks to months. Some people have persistent pain for several months or longer. Regardless how your injury occurred, it is important to seek a healthcare professional such as an athletic therapist right away to begin treatment. The goal of treatment is to allow the injuries to heal as much as possible on their own while supporting the healing process and minimizing symptoms.
Okanagan Athletic Therapy in Kelowna treats whiplash injuries and if you have suffered whiplash in a motor-vehicle accident you are covered for FREE athletic therapy sessions without pre-approval from ICBC. To contact us to book your appointment: Here