Whiplash Physical Therapy
Whiplash is one of the most common auto accident injuries. It occurs when the neck moves forward and backward quickly and suddenly, causing the ligaments and muscles to overextend.
Nationwide, an estimated 1/3 of people who suffer whiplash injuries continue to have symptoms even three years after their accidents. Additionally, in a study of 100 people who were rear-ended in an auto accident, 14% of those people still had significant pain after 8 years!
This is why it’s crucial to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist to start your immediate recovery. Home remedies and pain medication are only temporary solutions that do not properly or fully heal the injured site, but physical therapy after a car accident can ensure a complete and healthy recovery.
Schedule your personalized consultation today at New Heights Physical Therapy Plus. We strive to create the ideal healing environment for our patients and we’re dedicated to helping our patients recover by providing exceptional care. We offer in-person appointments and telehealth appointments.
Whiplash Treatment
As part of our whiplash physical therapy treatment, we use the Cervical-Ocular Vestibular System (COV) designed by our own Physical Therapist Donna Gramont, PT, MOMT, OCS for our whiplash patients. This system uses a laser and headgear to test and pinpoint problems to your neurological system and helps rehabilitate your balance, sensation, and eye control which can be affected by whiplash. We like to start whiplash rehabilitation exercises and COV treatments within a week or two of your whiplash injury, but we’ve even seen progress with patients who’ve suffered whiplash symptoms for a long time.
Muscles & Joint Rehabilitation
During whiplash treatment, our physical therapists will provide exercises and gentle motions that will help minimize pain while improving posture control, neck rotation, and range of motion. As the body heals an injured area, new tissues develop, and movement is the best way to ensure the new tissues develop successfully.
Balance Rehabilitation
Specialized headgear worn by our patients points a laser to large patterns on the wall, and patients move their eyes and head to direct the laser through prescribed exercises. After continually performing these exercises, your oculomotor and vestibular systems recover from your injury.
Eye Control Rehabilitation
Common complaints of a whiplash injury include dizziness, difficulty reading, and problems with vision. Because whiplash affects the system responsible for how your eyes move, it is important to also consider this when getting physical therapy for whiplash. Our physical therapists have the tools and knowledge to help you fully recover from your car accident injury.
Whiplash Symptoms
- Headaches
- Dizziness and nausea
- Numbness
- Problems with vision
- Neck stiffness and soreness
- Difficulty moving head or neck
- Pain in the shoulder area
- Pain down the arm to the hand
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you’ll want to get treated sooner rather than later to help prevent long term effects. Contact us, we have a location in Vancouver and another in East Portland for your convenience.
Can Whiplash Cause Long Term Problems?
Yes, whiplash can cause long term problems. Some of the long term effects of a whiplash injury include:
- Neck stiffness
- Shoulder stiffness
- Chronic pain
- Numbness in the legs, arms, and hands
- Memory issues
- Concentration problems
- Sleeping difficulties
- Bouts of dizziness
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Reduced range of motion in the neck
- Headaches
This is why it’s important to address and treat your whiplash injury as soon as you experience symptoms, even if they’re minor.
Car Accident Physical Therapy in Portland OR
If you’re interested in car accident physical therapy, contact us. Without treatment, inflammation and muscle spasms may make it hard to do daily activities. Our senior physical therapists have an average of more than 15 years of clinical experience with a wide range of continuing education. We will diagnose and treat your symptoms so you can feel better as soon as possible.
At New Heights Physical Therapy Plus, our therapists always perform a thorough examination of your injuries and determine the best course of action to provide the most beneficial symptom relief. They gather information about your medical history, the type and severity of the accident, and other types of treatment you are receiving in conjunction with your physical therapy to determine what treatments, exercises, and modalities will be most helpful with your healing.
Acute treatment may include manual therapies (which may include manipulations, strain-counterstrain, or other hands-on techniques), light pumping exercises, and/or microcurrent. Long term treatment may include manual therapies and/or specific strengthening exercises to decrease long term discomfort. Studies have shown that physical therapy is effective in treating whiplash injuries because it prescribes active treatment which includes physical therapy evaluation, posture control, neck rotation and pumping exercises, strengthening exercises, and other treatments depending on the needs of the patient. Again, for best treatment results, active care ideally begins within 96 hours of the accident. Whether your injuries are joint, muscle, neurological, whiplash or vestibular-ocular we are prepared to treat you quickly and efficiently.