Yoga Therapy for Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash injury occurs when the soft tissue of the spine becomes tense and stretched following an abrupt event when the body is suddenly thrown forward such as in a car accident. Common vehicle accidents that lead to whiplash include a sudden slowdown. Other than that, other activities could also cause the occurrence of whiplash injuries like diving.
One of the proven effective ways to treat and relieve whiplash injuries is yoga therapy. In this program, you would be conditioned to establish a posture designed specifically for individual issues and imbalances to heal the body. Typically, many pain and misalignment issues can be resolved when the muscles balance and tend to align properly after regular yoga exercises.
To help you better understand whiplash, imagine your body as a three-story building. Once the support beams move and pull down, even the top story of the building will soon sag downward. If the leg muscles get tight, there could be a perpetual pull in the upper body. Over time, the constant downward pull could cause several chronic pain conditions to worsen with whiplash.
The four-limbed staff pose in chaturanga dandasana would require a great deal of strength from the entire shoulder girdle. Various styles of yoga do the pose repeatedly. If you start to feel pain in your shoulder, you may want to drop your knees to the floor. You could ease the burden off your shoulder. The handstand setup, easy dolphin, and downward facing dog are other styles of yoga that could eventually keep your shoulders working without overloading them. Over time, you will notice that the whiplash injury will gradually lessen.
Weight-bearing of the upper extremities from Downward-Facing Dog could address neck and shoulder problems, such as in the case of a whiplash injury. The constant practice of yoga could surely bring relief and treatment to the condition.
A crossover twist (lying on the floor with your arms at shoulder height and legs straight) might also help with whiplash. While bringing one leg up towards the chest and across the body (right leg crossed to the left and towards the floor and turn the head to the other side). While keeping your shoulders flat on the ground, notice where you are tighter compared to each side. As a general ‘rule’, the tighter side would be worked twice as much as the softer side.
If you feel your shoulders rise as you do this twist, hold sandbags or books in your hands as you twist into the twist, this will help keep your shoulders down. In any case, be kind to yourself.