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Sydney Headache & Migraine Clinic

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I Suffer From Whiplash Injuries

Whiplash Injury Treatment

Whiplash injuries frequently happen due to car accidents can occur if the vehicle has been struck from the back, front, or side. Whiplash can also occur from other injuries, such as sports-related injuries, or other neck-disturbing traumas.

At the Sydney Headache and Migraine Clinic, we have seen numerous patients from Sydney suffering from whiplash or whiplash-associated Injuries. Once treatment commences, with our expert headache clinicians, we expect a significant improvement to occur rapidly in 90% of our patients with whiplash headaches, within the first 5 treatment consultations.

Our clinicians are experts in assessing the neck and head and if we don’t think our treatment can help you, we will let you know after the initial consultation. However, our treatment can help the vast majority of whiplash patients and our medicine-free and surgery-free treatment is effective and provides long-term results. Book your appointment today!

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Whiplash-Headache

Understanding Your Symptoms

What is Whiplash and How Does It Feel?

Whiplash is an injury to your muscles, tendons or other soft tissues of your neck and is categorised as an energy transfer mechanism of acceleration and deceleration into the neck.

Pain from a whiplash often occurs several hours after the initial injury whereby pain, stiffness, swelling and bruising increases over the subsequent days. See below symptoms to find out more about how it feels to have whiplash.

Injuries sustained from whiplash usually results in a bony, muscular or ligamentous dysfunction typically in the cervical joints of the neck.

These injuries can cause mild to severe headaches and migraines depending on the extent of the injury. Those with this injury may result in headaches and migraines on one side of the head in a focal point, or even both sides. Symptoms can spread down to the neck, shoulders, arms and upper back.

During severe injuries, those with whiplash injuries may experience NTS (neck tongue syndrome) – this is where a significant trauma has disturbed the upper 3 cervical vertebrae to the point of possible rupture to the ligaments and dislocation or instability of the vertebrae. Those with NTS will report numbness and a tingling sensation to one half of their tongue, pain in the neck and head region.

Risk factors of developing headaches following trauma to the head and/or neck?

According to the International Headache Society, the following may contribute to the likelihood of developing headaches following trauma to the head and/or neck (such as from a whiplash injury).

• Previous history of headache
• Less severe injury to the head and/or neck
• Being female
• Presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders

The types of Whiplash Associated Headaches
Vertigo pain

Understanding Your Headache

How Do Whiplash (Motor Vehicle Accident) Injuries Cause Headaches?

Whiplash injuries can cause significant headaches and migraines. Due to the mechanism of a whiplash injury, the cervical spine is typically affected which results in a sensitised brainstem.

The brainstem, specifically the Trigemino-Cervical nucleus, receives signals from various areas of the head via the Trigeminal nerve, and the neck via the Cervical afferent nerves. Due to injury, this often causes, what is most easily explained as, confusion in the Trigemino-Cervical nucleus. This is interpreted as a “danger” to various areas of the head, and therefore causes pain in the head (usually accompanied by neck pain) in the form of a headache or migraine.

Around half of the patients who come to see us, report some form of neck injury in the past, which has precipitated their headaches and migraines. Most often, trauma to the neck such as whiplash injuries can induce many different forms of headaches and migraines such as:

Organise Your Initial Assessment

About The Assessment Stage

What To Expect During The Assessment

1. Comprehensive and in-depth examination

We instigate an in-depth assessment to identify all possible related factors that could be causing your headaches or migraines. The upper cervical spine, in particular, is thoroughly examined to identify possible issues.

2. Ligamental stability and vertebral arterial tests

We undertake careful examination of neck ligaments and vertebral arteries, ensuring only the highest standards of patient safety and comfort.

3. Temporarily reproduce your headache and migraine symptoms

As a part of the treatment process, we apply gentle and selective stress to the upper cervical spine in order to reproduce headache symptoms, which subside after 20-30 seconds. This helps to identify and treat the cause of your headaches.

The types of Whiplash Associated Headaches

Acute headaches

Headaches of less than 3 months’ duration following a whiplash injury.

Persistent headaches

Headaches of more than 3 months’ duration caused by whiplash.

How long does it take to recover from whiplash?

Treating Whiplash Associated Headaches

Many sufferers of whiplash associated headaches in Sydney have tried have tried multiple different treatments with mixed results.

Modern medicine moves very rapidly, and unfortunately this means that no one can keep up with all of the research. Many practitioners rely on the outdated medical model of the various forms of headaches to provide treatments to their patients.

Here at the Sydney Headache and Migraine Clinic™, we are experts at treating headaches and migraines. Therefore, we pride ourselves in keeping up-to-date with the most recent research, and applying the most effective treatments for your needs.

A thorough examination of the upper cervical spine is firstly initiated to determine the severity of your SENSITISED BRAINSTEM. If your brainstem has been proven to be hypersensitive and the cause of your Vertigo Cervical Headaches, we then conduct specific treatment to safely and effectively de-sensitive your brainstem. We expect a significant improvement to occur rapidly (within 5 treatment sessions) in over 80-90% of our patients once treatment commences.

Tools for managing migraines.

Do these symptoms sound all too familiar?

Book in your initial appointment to see an expert today

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