If you were recently in a car accident, and experienced whiplash, you need to make sure that you get it treated by medical professionals. Your chiropractor and your primary care doctor can work together to help heal the cervical strain that your body was put through due to the car accident. Here are a few additional ways you can assist your formal treatment plan from your medical team at home.

#1 Change Up Your Pillow

After you have experienced whiplash, one of the first things that you are going to want to do is change up the pillow that you sleep on. You are going to want to make sure that you have a pillow that is really soft, but also offers enough support for the curve of your neck. Having a soft but supportive pillow to sleep on will reduce your pain and help your neck heal from the trauma that it just went through.

You may need to adjust your sleeping habits as well. When healing from whiplash, you should avoid sleeping on your stomach at all, as that position can put a lot of strain on your neck. You should instead try to sleep on your back if at all possible, to put the least amount of strain on your back and really allow your body a chance to heal.

#2 Get A Massage

In addition to treatment from your chiropractor and primary care physician, you may also want to look into getting a massage while your body heals. Your muscles are going to be tight and may even spasms, which can make them really sore, as you recover from your whiplash.

Getting a massage that focuses on your head, neck and back area is a great way to relax your strained muscles. A massage will also help improve your circulation in those areas, which will help with the healing process. Be sure to let your massage therapist know that you were just in a vehicle accident and about your whiplash, so they can treat it and adjust their treatment accordingly.

#3 Move Your Neck

It may be tempting to keep your neck as straight as possible and not move it because of the pain from your whiplash. However, it is actually not a good idea to immobilize your head and neck as you recover from the whiplash. Doing this can actually harm the healing process and cause your neck muscles to weaken.

Instead, move your head as much as feels comfortable and don't try to restrict your head movements. When you can, do a few simple neck exercises, such as moving your head from one side to the other and from front to back. These exercises or movements are called range of motion exercises and can help strengthen your neck and help it heal from the trauma that it has been through.

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