GH3 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I got rear ended today and my mother told me to expect neck pain tomorrow. Should I avoid moving around a lot to minimize the pain or even avoid it? Or is it inevitable? Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites
TaraMaiden2 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 How bad was the whiplash? Link to post Share on other sites
central Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm assuming you got all the driver's information and filed an accident report with the police and your insurance? That's the first step in protecting yourself. Aside from that, use ice to minimize swelling/inflammation, as that's what leads to most pain and stiffness. If you do experience any pain, see your doctor ASAP, as you could have anything from muscle strain to a damaged tendon or minor fracture - may not be a bad idea to have it checked just in case. Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm not a medical professional but when I have any sort of internal injury I ice the area for 15 minutes every hour or as often as possible (not exceeding an hour between icings) to prevent swelling. I believe it's the first 72-hour time period this would be effective during so I would recommend that. Don't know if it'd help with whiplash but doubt it would hurt to try. You might want to see a Dr. whether or not you feel your injury is serious because if you should have a serious injury at a later date you may need to prove the later accident was the one that caused the serious injury. It's possible that an insurance company or liable party may try to pin the injury on this accident that just occurred so they wouldn't have to pay for the later injury. Even if they weren't able to establish that, it would sure make matters simpler to be able to present that you have, at this point, a clean bill of health to rule out that possibly. So going to a Dr. to be cleared of injury would be a way to establish that any future injury wouldn't be attributed to the accident you had today. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'd get an x-ray just to be sure but a hot bath & some ibuprofen will probably do you well. The doctors may give you something stronger but if it's just mild, expect to be uncomfortable 3-4 days. Hot showers & heating pads help. Link to post Share on other sites
Author GH3 Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Yes, I got the driver's info, I don't have any pain yet, but I was told to expect it. I'll try the ice pack on my neck, thank you all! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Yes, I got the driver's info, I don't have any pain yet, but I was told to expect it. I'll try the ice pack on my neck, thank you all! That will cause more pain. You need heat. the pain comes when the muscles contract. They have been overly extended (whiplash). They want to contract. You want to keep them loose & not painful which will require heat. You use ice when you work out to soothe away the lactic acid. This is different. Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 If you experience any sensory or cognitive anomalies, e.g. stuff that just doesn't seem right or is inconsistent with prior experience, see a doctor immediately. Such may be signs of concussion or internal brain bleed. Yeah, we're hard headed and the brain can take a beating but stuff happens and it isn't easy to fix. If the rear ender was sufficient to put your car/truck on the hook or transporter, pay attention to anything that seems out of the ordinary. As example of two very different outcomes, my best friend and I got a side hit at full road speed on his side front in my truck and it totaled the truck and I received no injuries at all but he had a ligament torn completely off in his right shoulder when his head and shoulder impacted the side window. Same forces, different people, different locations in the vehicle. Fortunately, he suffered no brain injuries but it's taken eight months to get the shoulder back to some semblance of normal. When in doubt, check it out. Link to post Share on other sites
RoseVille Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 That will cause more pain. You need heat. the pain comes when the muscles contract. They have been overly extended (whiplash). They want to contract. You want to keep them loose & not painful which will require heat. You use ice when you work out to soothe away the lactic acid. This is different. Not so. Injury = RICE. Rest (immobilization), Ice, Compression (where possible), Elevation. You use heat to loosen tight muscles. Ice is used to reduce inflammation from injury, which thereby receives pain. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) Not so. Injury = RICE. Rest (immobilization), Ice, Compression (where possible), Elevation. You use heat to loosen tight muscles. Ice is used to reduce inflammation from injury, which thereby receives pain. This^^^^^^when you have an injury your body rushes fluid (blood) to the area which causes swelling that can put pressure on surrounding nerves. The ice will keep too much blood from accumulating there, thereby also decreasing swelling. Heat will allow lots of blood to flow into the area and cause the area to swell up and be more painful. Heat is for relaxing your tense muscles as RoseVille wrote (above). If you have an area that's infected then you can alternate with ice and heat causing fresh clean blood to be pumped into the area. Ice=causes some of the infected blood to move out of the tissues and Heat=allows "clean" blood to flow back into the area. If you ice/heat ice/heat ice/heat ice/heat and finish with ice you are effectively pumping fresh blood in and out of the area and giving the surrounding tissues needed nutrients to heal. Edited October 1, 2015 by LivingWaterPlease Link to post Share on other sites
Miss Peach Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 When that happened to me the highway patrolman told me to drink lots of water. It worked well... never had an issue. Link to post Share on other sites
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