Headaches and neck pain are very common after motor vehicle accidents (MVA’s). At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic we take post accident complaints of headache and neck pain seriously. We disagree that whiplash is a minor soft tissue injury associated with significant psychosocial factors.
Sources of neck and headache pain and their potential treatment at the Centeno- Schultz Clinic are:
1) Muscle dysfunction and inhibition: intramuscular stimulation (IMS).
2) Loose Ligaments in cervical spine: prolotherapy.
3) Weak cervical muscles: Multi Cervical Unit (MCU) and strengthening of deep neck flexors.
4) Loss for cervical curve: prolotherapy, physical therapy and chiropractic care.
5) Cervical facet dysfunction: x-ray guided intra-articular facet injections, medial branch blocks and radiofrequency neurotomy.
6) Disc Dysfunction: x-ray guided epidurals with lose dose cortisone or platelet derived growth factors.
Appropriate treatment is essential given the fact that whiplash can progress to chronic pain syndromes. Freeman et al demonstrated that a significant proportion of individuals with chronic neck pain in the general population were originally injured in a motor vehicle accident.