20/05/2026
Whiplash & Head Pain
I learned many years ago from an older colleague what my future held after sustaining whiplash injuries, she was then where I am now, experiencing extreme pain & discomfort.
I was a passenger in a car that was rear-ended by a bus, doctors smiled & some people openly ridiculed accusing me of going for the money, at the time it was not taken seriously by anybody.
5 years post crash I was still experiencing neck, head & arm pain on top of my then episodic migraine attacks. I was exhausted & then a friend suggested I see a chiropractor.
Thanks to the Westfield scheme I was able to have a years worth of weekly treatment at the Hillsborough chiropractic clinic, the neck, head & shoulder pain eased considerably. I was also vindicated with a letter from the chiropractor stating what the problem was, it was real & I was believed.
As migraineurs we've all been there with the bloody naysayers who doubt our symptoms, I carry that letter for several years just to shut the Mignorants up ๐
Vertebrae mechanically displaced & trapping nerves.
I noticed the numbness several years later, by then I didn't have the funds for the clinic & the Gp, well less said the better ๐
It was a kean eyed radiographer that spotted the slippage / instability in my neck bones & the accompanying bone spurs.
I finally saw a neck specialist around 20yrs post crash thanks to that radiographer. It wasn't bad enough then, bloody painful but not that bad, I was discharged.
By then I was experiencing chronic migraine thanks to menopause, I'd managed my condition as best as I could.
Think it was 2022 I was admitted to hospital with status Migrainous, I kept telling the doctors this was not my normal hemiplegic migraine, the pain wasn't originating in the usual spot or from exposure to my normal triggers. Lumber puncture, oramorph etc .
I did my research & figured it was
either Cervicogenic / Occipital Neuralgia co-existing with my chronic migraine. I'd been on the laptop at a bad angle, my neck had become irritated & inflamed. Still my old Gp was not helpful
Fast forward to now, I'm having physio to address the neck, it's not easy , the pain & pins & needles are bloody awful but I'm hoping it will improve.
Thankful I changed my Gp & found someone who would listen.
My advice, if you've experienced whiplash, see your GP & a chiropractor, ask for a long term diagnosis on record & regular visits to a physio, if its due to an accident & insurance is involved have them take into account your long term health needs & the costs involved as these could be significant. Had I been aware at the time & been able to access the chiropractor regularly after my Westfield scheme stopped I honestly believe my neck stability would not be as painful as it is today.
