Massage for
Whiplash: How to Find the Right Massage Therapist to Treat your Whiplash Injury
Whiplash is
also known as cervical acceleration/deceleration injury, and
hyperextension/hyperflexion injury. We will assume for this article that you
are already aware of the symptoms of whiplash and that you have an idea of the
most common causes of whiplash. Massage has a proven track record in helping
people heal from whiplash injuries and ongoing research in this arena is
promising.
The 4 Main
Hurdles to Overcome in Utilizing Massage Treatment for Whiplash are:
Many
physicians still have limited knowledge about the usefulness of massage and
bodywork. Massage and bodywork for medical conditions and injuries are still in
the process of gaining acceptance by the medical community at large. The good
news is that more physicians everyday are opening up to, and recognizing the
benefits of, utilizing massage and bodywork for injury treatment.
The training
for massage therapists and bodyworkers is not standardized and there can be a
great disparity in knowledge and training among graduates from different
programs. Some states still have no licensing requirements. Fortunately, there
is a growing movement advocating for advanced training for massage therapists
and bodyworkers who specialize in treating injuries and managing pain
associated with chronic medical conditions.
You may live
in a state where massage is not a licensed healthcare profession and auto
insurance companies may balk at paying for massage for whiplash treatment.
The
knowledge base of the public. Most lay persons, and whiplash sufferers, may not
know there is a difference between spa massage, and massage and bodyworking
techniques that can be effectively utilized to speed healing from whiplash. I
am not slighting the spa industry. Massage for relaxation has its own
therapeutic value, although it is not well suited for site specific injury
treatment. What's the difference between spa massage and medical or therapeutic
massage? Spa massage tends to be a more generalized effort to calm the nervous
system and reduce general tension in the structure. Medical massage, or
therapeutic massage, is more focused and endeavors to address trauma and to
alleviate pain in the short term. The long term goals are to effect mechanical
changes, make histological improvements (effect changes in the characteristics
of the tissues involved), and to restore function and balance to the structure.
Tried and
True Methods of Finding the Right Therapist or Organization
There are
some tried and true ways of finding a massage therapist to treat whiplash. If
you are fortunate enough to have a physician who is already aware of the
usefulness of manual therapies, he/she may have a clinic or list of medical
massage establishments that are reputable and can render effective massage
treatment for whiplash. If not, there are other avenues such as friends,
coworkers, and online rating sites. The problem here is, unknown to each of
these sources, treating whiplash requires higher levels of training and skill.
Finding someone to perform effective massage treatment for whiplash is
different from finding a massage practitioner who performs great well-body massage Northampton.
The problem with relying on word-of-mouth referrals from people who may not
have had massage for the treatment of whiplash, is that they may not know the
difference between the use of relaxation techniques and the use of more
advanced theories and techniques which are used to treat significant soft
tissue injuries. It is often necessary to take things into your own hands and
do your own research.
Finding
Massage for Whiplash On Your Own
Things to
look for:
A clinical
setting with a therapist or therapists who have a higher level of training. It
is possible to find a clinic that has many excellent therapists. Excellent
professionals seek out associates of equal caliber to stay challenged, and up
to date, so they can continue to grow their skill-sets. Collaboration between
colleagues can offer advantages for patients and massage therapists alike.
These are just points to consider. It is also possible to find an exceptional
practitioner who operates a solo practice.
An
experienced therapist or therapists who have worked with many whiplash cases.
Less experienced massage therapists can render excellent advanced work as well,
when properly mentored. Seek a therapist or organization where whiplash is one
of the primary conditions they treat.
Therapists
who are in the practice of keeping professional chart notes (also called SOAP
notes) and who can write accurate reports containing important information for
physicians, claim adjusters and lawyers. You will want excellent documentation
of your injuries and treatment in order to establish the medical necessity for
the treatment. In addition, complete and accurate documentation of your
treatment is essential should your case need to be argued in court.
Location. Is
it in a reasonable location for you? Are you willing to drive longer distances
to see more experienced specialists? Depending on the specifics of your case,
the treatment period could be weeks or months. This makes distance and the
convenience of getting to your therapist's location an obvious consideration.
Questions to
ask of a prospective therapist or organization:
Do they
specialize in whiplash? Are they comfortable working in the anterior triangle
of the neck? Many therapists are not comfortable working the entire neck
because they have not been trained to work the front of the neck, known as the
anterior triangle. Treating this area of the body is not taught in many basic
licensing courses and the therapists without this training will not want to
work this area, nor should they. It is important to note that, although most
whiplash pain is felt in the back of the neck and upperback, it is usually
perpetuated by post-traumatic muscle guarding in the anterior (front side of)
the neck. Alleviating whiplash pain is only the initial concern. Restoring function
and the proper anterior/posterior postural balance (holding your head well
balanced on top of your neck and shoulders) is imperative for long-term health
and the avoidance of serious residual problems down the road. Properly treating
the anterior triangle is an important part of restoring that balance.
How much
experience do they have as an individual or as a group? How much knowledge is
under one roof? This is an important consideration, because inexperienced
therapists who are not being supervised or mentored, may miss problems common
to a whiplash injury. There are problems of which the patient may not be aware.
For example: a patient was rear-ended while sitting at a traffic light. It is
common for a person holding the steering wheel in this situation to have
shoulder joint injuries which are masked by the overwhelming neck pain. An
inexperienced therapist may neglect to do simple palpation of the shoulder,
which would be surprisingly tender to the patient, and confirm the injury. A
missed condition that will become more evident as the inflammation in the neck
subsides. This shoulder injury could be unnecessarily challenged by the
insurance company responsible for payment. The insurance company would argue
that the shoulder injury was not from the accident, since it was not charted on
the initial visit. I understand that this is unfair, but it is how insurance
companies usually behave. The point here is that massage therapists who are
experienced in treating whiplash know what to look for and how to treat it.
How long
have they been in business? Again this speaks to the level of experience.
Seasoned therapists, or clinics with multiple therapists and a large collective
body of knowledge, understand the intricacies of treating serious injuries such
as whiplash. Just as important is an understanding of proper documentation and
dealing with insurance companies, which leads us to number 4...
Do they do
the insurance billing for you? Or will they require you to pay at the time of
service and leave you to bill your own insurance company? Billing is a valuable
service provided by well established practices. It can take a lot of the
paperwork load and hassle off of you while you are healing.
As mentioned
before not all states regulate the practice of massage. Alaska, Idaho, Kansas,
Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Wyoming are the states where massage is
currently unregulated. Check the American Massage Therapy Association website
for the latest update.
While this
article is not meant to answer all of your questions on how to find the right
massage therapist or organization, I hope it gets you well on the way to
finding the person or persons who can render the most effective massage for
your whiplash treatment, and help you fully heal from your injuries.
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