Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Medications
If over-the-counter pain medications and self-care treatments at home aren't enough, your doctor may suggest:
- Prescription painkillers. People with more severe pain may benefit from short-term treatment with prescription pain relievers.
- Injections. An injection of lidocaine (Xylocaine) — a numbing medicine — into painful muscle areas may relieve the muscle spasms that can be associated with whiplash injuries.
- Muscle relaxants. These drugs can help ease muscle spasms but often cause drowsiness, so your doctor may want you to take them only at bedtime.
Therapy
Physical therapy interventions are the mainstay of treatment for whiplash. Therapy treatments may include:
- Ice
- Heat
- Manual therapies, including myofascial release
- Ultrasound
As pain permits, exercises to stretch and strengthen neck muscles can help to minimize symptoms and help protect your neck in the future.
Foam collars
Although soft foam cervical collars were once commonly used for whiplash injuries, they no longer are recommended routinely. Immobilizing the neck for long periods of time can lead to decreased muscle bulk and strength and impair recovery.
If worn temporarily, cervical collars should be worn for no longer than three hours at a time and for only the first few days after the injury. If you're continually being awakened at night by whiplash pain, especially early on after the injury, wearing a cervical collar may help you sleep.
- NINDS whiplash information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/whiplash/whiplash.htm. Accessed Dec. 28, 2011.
- Villafuerte JA. Whiplash. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2012:5 Books in 1. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05611-3..C2009-0-38601-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05611-3&uniqId=291436269-101. Accessed Dec. 28, 2011.
- Bannister G, et al. Whiplash injury. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 2009;91-B:845.
- Isaac Z, et al. Evaluation of the patient with neck pain and cervical spine disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 29, 2011.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Dec. 29, 2011.
- Hudgins TH, et al. Cervical sprain or strain. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/163314371-3/896420369/1678/8.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50007-9--cesec4_70. Accessed Dec. 29, 2011.
- Anderson BC, et al. Treatment of neck pain. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 29, 2011.
- Ho GWK, et al. Neck pain. In: South-Paul JE, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=8152464. Accessed Dec. 29, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on