If you’ve ever had whiplash, you understand how important it is to protect your neck to prevent it from ever happening again. If you’re one of the lucky ones and have never had whiplash, count your blessings and take the necessary precautions to prevent whiplash from happening to you.
Instructions
Preventing Whiplash
1. Support the neck. If you’re in a situation where the possibility for whiplash increases, such as an amusement park ride, wear a cervical collar. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
2. Wear seat belts when driving or riding in a car. Although the seat belt in and of itself will not prevent whiplash, it does help to prevent your body from lurching completely forward during a car crash. The simple act of buckling up is responsible for approximately a 60 percent reduction in accident fatalities. It makes sense to save your life and protect your neck and prevent whiplash by buckling up.
3. Exercise the neck to increase strength. Whiplash affects the neck muscles. The stronger the muscles the less affected by sudden movement your neck will be. Engage in neck exercises to strengthen the soft tissues of the neck. Exercise won’t prevent whiplash, but it can make you less susceptible to the forcible forward and backward neck jolts.
4. Maintain an awareness of your surroundings. This is especially true for drivers. Dialing a cell phone or fiddling around with the radio is enough of a distraction to lose driving focus and potentially cause an accident. Avoiding car accidents is one way to prevent whiplash.
5. Drive cars with headrests specifically manufactured to prevent whiplash. Car manufacturers understand the importance of preventing whiplash. If you’re on the market for a new car, in addition to checking the gas mileage, be sure to test the headrest to see if it is the right one for you.
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