Are you suffering from whiplash or a neck injury? Yoga to the rescue!
I was unfortunately in a car accident last week which got me thinking about yoga and whiplash and how it can help ease some of the discomfort. Here is what I was able to gather on the web.
About 1,000,000 whiplash injuries occur in the United States every year.
Whiplash describes the neck pain which follows a ‘soft tissue‘ injury to neck, that is an injury where no bones are broken but instead the muscles, ligaments and tendons are injured.
What to avoid….
If you tend to have neck pain, Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) can worsen the problem. As the pose drops your chin toward your chest, it makes it very easy to completely flatten the cervical curve or even curve the neck in the wrong direction. So, if you have a fairly recent, still painful, and acute neck injury like whiplash from an auto accident, avoid Shoulderstand. It would only exacerbate the injury, and practicing it too soon could significantly prolong your healing time.
Besides avoiding alignments and poses that flatten the neck too much, you should also work on strengthening the muscles that help support your cervical curve.
This site was great and completely outlines the exact way to go about healing your whiplash injury Yoga Therapy For Whiplash
Here is a nice ‘lil sequence for those of you easing back into your yoga practice.
My yoga sequence
Supta Badha Konasana
Easy Twist
Childs Pose
Cat Cow
Down Dog
Cobra (note: Do not throw your neck back, no matter how cool it may look when other yogis do it! Keep the back of the neck long, it is very important when healing from whiplash)
Legs Up the Wall Pose
Savasana
Related articles
- What Causes Whiplash? (getbalancedhealth.wordpress.com)
- Whiplash – How to Heal a Pain in the Neck (hofholistichealingcenters.wordpress.com)
Kukhahnyoga's Blog 
oh hun! i am sorry to hear that. i hope you are doing ok. i think it’s wonderful you posting this though, you may be helping so many others.
feel better! ❤
Could you send me some info on whiplash and Yoga. Thanks!
Hi Scott, I do not have a ton of info, except for the stuff I’ve written here in my blog. I think the most important thing to consider is taking things slow and listening to your body. The muscles, ligaments, and tendons have been stretched beyond the normal range of motion quite violently so it just takes time and patience for them to heal. In the beginning, rest, ice, deep breathing. Gradually progress to gentle stretches for the neck and creating space. (hanging forward fold ect.) Next progress to strengthening the upper back and neck with cobra, sphinx and gentle twists. Avoid taking your hands overhead for now, looking up in Triangle, Bridge, Shoulderstand, Fish pose, these poses could potentially do more harm than good until you are better. Good luck!
whiplash and neck injury is usually sustained in a car accident or to any related accident. if you have been in a car accident and you believe that it was someone else’s negligence it is your right to claim for personal injury accidents for compensation.
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