WHIPLASH - What Does Exercise Have to Do with It ?

For the first little while after you've suffered a whiplash injury you can expect your doctor to recommend that you attend physiotherapy and perhaps massage therapy. These forms of treatment are what's often referred to as "passive therapy" and are generally thought to be time limited in their effectiveness.

After a few months, if you've haven't recovered, you can expect that your doctor will suggest that you get involved in an "active exercise program".

What's a active exercise program ? Well, basically it involves a kinesiologist or personal trainer  taking you to a gym and teaching you a series of exercises which are designed to strengthen the muscles that were injured in the accident ( as well as the surrounding muscles). And after you've been taught these exercises, the idea is that you'll work with this indivdual until you're able to do these exercises independently.

Will going to the gym be slightly painful at first ? Probably.

And for people who've never exercised or been to a gym before, I expect that  this "active exercise" business sounds kind of scary.

 But the research seems to support the idea that exercise helps people recover from whiplash injuries. So, if you want to recover from your whiplash injury as soon as possible, exercise may need to be part of the program.