Whiplash can be a painful experience that can result from a number of different incidents, though most commonly is a result of a car accident. What makes whiplash especially difficult is that the symptoms can take a few days to arise, meaning you might not know you have a problem right away.
If you’re recovering from whiplash at home, you might be curious about what steps you can take outside of or after seeing a doctor. You might be surprised to learn that simply resting isn’t actually the best treatment for this kind of injury.
Read on, and we’ll walk you through how to recover from whiplash at home.
Keeping Your Body Active
Whiplash can have you feeling sore, stiff, and uncomfortable. But keeping your body inactive and in bed can actually worsen these symptoms instead of improving them.
Keeping your body doesn’t mean you should go out and do extreme physical activity following your injury, but it does mean you need to help keep your body in some form of motion.
If you’ve visited a physical therapist, they’ve likely recommended or taught you a few exercises you can do safely in the comfort of your own home. These exercises are intended to help you overcome body stiffness, as well as build up neck strength and support that may have been weakened in the injury.
A physical therapist can help walk you through these exercises in a safe manner so that you don’t injure yourself further.
Don’t Stay in One Position
One habit we get into that can actually worsen whiplash symptoms is by putting a strain on particular muscles. Staying in one position over a long period of time is a simple way of doing this.
That’s why it can be a good idea to try and move around and switch positions frequently throughout the day. If you have to work while recovering, try to stay somewhat active. Consider taking a walk to a coworker’s desk to chat every so often, or switch between working while standing and sitting.
This can help to give your muscles a break and distributes stress between them more equally.
Apply Ice or Heat
If you’re feeling a lot of pain due to your whiplash injury, applying hot or cold compresses might provide some relief. Applying ice in the days immediately following the injury can help to keep swelling down and numb pain.
Following the immediate aftermath of the incident, switching between cold and hot compresses can help mitigate the pain one might feel. Combining this with safe usage of over-the-counter pain medication like Advil can make your recovery process more manageable.
Always talk to a medical practitioner before taking medication.
How To Recover From Whiplash At Home
If you’ve recently been in an accident, knowing how to recover from whiplash could be very helpful for your day-to-day comfort. Following the above tips should help mitigate pain and get you back on the road to recovery.
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