How Chiropractic Treatment Can Help Treat Whiplash
Experiencing internal injuries is not uncommon following a traumatic car accident or a slip and fall. Whiplash is a common injury several people frequently suffer after these incidents. Unfortunately, they often ignore it and fail to seek proper treatment, believing it will go away or heal on its own with time. However, treating whiplash is essential to avoid causing long-term damage. Therefore, chiropractic treatment is often recommended and is highly effective in treating whiplash and significantly reduces the possibility of getting it again.
What is whiplash?
Whiplash is a type of neck muscle injury or sprain caused due to sudden, fast, and forceful back and forth neck movement. Rear-end automobile accidents are among the causes of whiplash. It can cause sharp and acute pain and limit the range of motion, preventing people from carrying out their daily activities comfortably.
The neck is a delicate and sensitive organ, and unnatural movement can affect the neck ligaments, soft tissues, nerves, and discs. The condition can worsen if ignored or left unattended.
Common whiplash symptoms
Some common symptoms of whiplash include:
Headaches
Stiffness in neck
Fatigue
Dizziness or vertigo
Blurred vision
Pain in shoulders, arms, and upper back
Decreased range of motion
Ringing in ears
If a person experiences one or more of these symptoms after an accident or fall, they should seek chiropractic treatment immediately.
Whiplash injury diagnosis by a chiropractor
A chiropractor evaluates the entire spine for proper functionality and the areas in which the patient is experiencing pain. Doing this helps them identify the areas where there is muscle tension and spasm, restricted joint motion, ligament injury, or disc injury. They also assess these areas for tightness and tenderness. A chiropractor can also perform some tests like X-rays or MRIs for further evaluation. A thorough diagnosis helps a chiropractor to understand the body mechanism and correctly diagnose the situation. Based on the findings, a chiropractor develops a customized treatment plan.
Chiropractic treatment after whiplash
Chiropractic treatment is a safe, drug-free, and non-invasive method to treat whiplash injuries in people of all ages, including kids and pregnant ladies. Chiropractors use spinal adjustments and manipulations, spinal decompression, and massage therapy to alleviate pain and correct the alignments. Depending on the patient’s condition, a chiropractor can also recommend gentle and controlled exercises and movements to restore the range of motion and correct the posture, which will help people carry out routine activities.
Spinal decompression includes gentle stretches to reduce muscle pain, tightness, and tension. Spinal and neck adjustments use controlled spinal manipulations to restore the spine and neck to their original condition. These are also useful in improving the range of motion while reducing pain and inflammation. Specific spinal manipulation, flexion distraction, and hand-held medical devices are the techniques used by chiropractors. In massage therapy, soft tissues are manipulated gently to treat lower back, shoulder, and neck pain and headache.
Benefits of chiropractic care for whiplash
Some of the benefits a person can enjoy after opting for chiropractic care to treat whiplash include:
Pain alleviation
Reduced inflammation
Restored range of motion
Reduced scar tissue
Avoid surgery
Long-term health and stability
Get the necessary assistance to heal
If you suffer a whiplash injury following an accident, do not ignore it. Instead, consult a chiropractor immediately to begin the recovery process through chiropractic care and return to normal activities.
When you’re injured in a car accident, there is no reason to delay treatment due to lack of insurance or while waiting for insurance approval. Here at Renew Accident & Injury Chiropractic Clinic we treat car accident cases with zero out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Call 503-493-9730.