Whiplash And Headaches

Whiplash is a common injury resulting from accidents, in particular being struck from behind while in a car. The flexing of the neck often leads to injury of the sternocleidomastoids (the large muscles down the front of the neck) and the longus colli (the muscle in front of the spine that turns and bends the head). Headaches, especially in the back of the head, are a common result of whiplash.

Since whiplash usually only causes damage to the soft tissues in the neck, most treatments are centered around reducing the inflammation and supporting the neck muscles during the healing process. The treating healthcare provider may take X-rays or perform an MRI of the neck to check for other injuries or spinal problems. Headaches resulting from whiplash are usually treated by efforts to reduce the swelling in the neck using cold compression therapy and other conservative measures.

Range of motion exercises (as directed by a qualified physical therapist) can also be beneficial in treating headaches resulting from whiplash. The therapist may also add ultrasound therapy to the conservative treatment regimen. Ultrasound has been shown to enhance healing in a variety of ways such as softening damaged tissue (which reduces strain), producing a pain-killing effect, increasing blood flow to damaged muscle, and increasing range of motion in tendon tissue.

Reducing the strain on the neck muscles is important in obtaining relief from headaches caused by whiplash. As the muscles relax, there will be less tension on the nerve endings in the cervical spine--and that helps reduce the pain.

Treating Whiplash and Headaches

Ultrasound Therapy is an effective way to reduce the strain and pain caused by whiplash and headaches. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™ (BFST^®) will promote blood flow to your upper back and neck to improve the health of your damaged soft tissue more completely and whisk away toxins faster than any other methods available.

Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound therapy decreases inflammation and pain, loosens trigger points, and softens scar tissue. Therapeutic ultrasonic waves increase tissue elasticity while promoting healing in your back and neck muscles by opening up the blood vessels to allow greater blood flow.

Think of ultrasound treatment as the deepest muscle massage you have ever had, without any pain or discomfort. The sound waves work on a microscopic level so you don't feel the massage itself, but you will feel the pain relief. Ultrasound quickly loosens your tense muscles and trigger points and gets more blood flowing in the area. This clears out lactic acid and toxins that have resided there and created your recurring headaches.

Ultrasound also reduces inflammation in muscles and other soft tissue while softening the scar tissue that forms on muscles fibers during the healing process. Scar tissue binds your muscle fibers together abnormally. This inflexible scar tissue causes more pain in your neck and upper back and leaves your muscle tense and tight limiting your range of motion.

If scar tissue is left untreated, your back and neck can stiffen making movement difficult and in some cases, impossible. Fortunately, you can treat your upper back and back of neck with MendMeShop^® Ultrasound System to soften scar tissue and improve the tightness.

Please Note: Ultrasound is not recommended for use directly over the spine.

Ultrasound can also be used to administer therapeutic medicines deep into your tense and/or injured neck and back muscles. This is a process known as phonophoresis. Ultrasound therapy with phonophoresis is rapidly becoming more popular than ultrasound therapy alone.

Therapeutic ultrasound with phonophoresis is safe, convenient, and easy and requires 10-15 minutes per treatment. It is based on a form of deep tissue therapy, which is generated through high frequency sound waves (that we can not hear). These waves send micro vibrations into your body and carry medicated molecules within the ultrasound gel deep into your muscle tissue to enhance your ultrasound therapy. Ultrasound waves and medicated ultrasound gel penetrate deep to relax your muscles, decrease inflammation and accelerate your recovery rate, so you can return to your daily activities as soon as possible.

Using MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel during your ultrasound therapy gives you 2 therapies in 1. You get the benefit of the regenerating sound waves from the ultrasound device itself AND the added bonus of the therapeutic ingredients inside the gel being delivered into your muscles where it is most effective to reduce your pain and heal. 1 FREE bottle of MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel comes with every MendMeShop^® Ultrasound Therapy System and it contains the therapeutic essential oils of natural Bulgarian lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, and menthol.

Click here to learn more about Ultrasound Therapy

Tortoise Shellz^® Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™

After severe inflammation and swelling is reduced you can begin to treat your neck and back with Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™ (BFST^®). BFST^® increases the amount of blood that flows naturally to your muscle fibers to nourish your soft tissue which speeds healing.

When you rest your back and neck or stop moving around because it hurts, the natural blood flow to your muscles is reduced, limiting your body's ability to heal itself.

By treating your muscles with BFST^® you can increase your body's blood supply to the muscle fibers and increase your body's natural healing power.

The Tortoise Shellz^® is the tool you need to treat your neck and upper back because not only does it speeds healing, it relaxes all you muscles. With BFST^®, tissues are safely and gently stimulated. Your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area, increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to injured tissue cells to promote healing and loosen the tissue. Our Tortoise Shellz^® Upper Back Therapy Vest provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief and healing with no side effects.

In addition, the improved blood flow whisks away dead cells and toxins that have built up from your muscle strain, further reducing tightness and pain. When you stop moving your back due to pain, your muscles and other tissue can become weaker and dead cells and toxins in the area can cause further tissue deterioration - this can lead to atrophy (muscle weakness and/or deterioration). By clearing the area of toxins and increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to your muscle and other tissue, the risk of atrophy is greatly reduced. Keeping your muscle tissue as healthy as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to improve muscle strength again once your pain has gone and your strain has healed.

Freezie Wrap^® Cold Compression Therapy

To decrease pain, swelling and inflammation caused by whiplash doctor's recommend cold compression therapy. For an acute strain, cold compression therapy within the first 48 - 72 hours and after any restrain is important to limit the amount of damage done to your tissue. Cold compression therapy will relieve pain and swelling as needed and will reduce, or even eliminate, the need for NSAIDs and pain medications.

The Back/Hip Freezie Wrap^® is the cold compression tool you need to treat your upper back pain in an effective and convenient way. It is so versatile it can be worn anywhere over your chest, back, or hip for treatment where you need it.

Cold Compression Therapy works by interrupting and slowing nerve and cell function in the injured area and reducing swelling that can block blood vessels. This is important because once blood vessels are blocked or damaged, they can no longer carry oxygenated blood through your muscle and tissue cells begin to break-down. Without cold compression therapy cellular break-down and tissue damage continues as the cells do not get the oxygen they need to survive. By limiting the amount of damage done to your tissue, you also limit the amount of healing that needs to occur. This is a very important step to heal your muscle strain faster and with less pain!

The deep cooling effect provided by the Freezie Wrap^® slows cell metabolism thereby reducing cellular break-down and tissue damage. Furthermore, because the cold wraps gently numb the nerves, the wraps also reduce pain!

The Freezie Wrap^® uses a supercharged cooling gel pack, that chills in the fridge, not in the freezer like ice or other freezer packs, giving you deep cold therapy without the risk of 'cold burns' or cryoburn.

With these 3 easy therapies, cold compression, ultrasound and BFST^®, you will notice significantly reduced pain and an incredible improvement in your back and neck pain. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!

Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Or email us at service@MendMeShop.com