Think you Might Have Whiplash? Things You Should Know
Being involved in an auto accident is the last thing on someone’s mind, however, people do often end up getting hurt and injured in auto accidents.
Were you recently involved in a minor car accident that didn’t hurt you much? Did you go to the ER and got back home after a little check-up? Are you experiencing tightening in your neck and shoulder a few days after you were involved in the car accident?
Are you wondering if it is whiplash?
What is Whiplash?
Whiplash is a common injury you can incur when you are involved in a motor vehicle collision. However, due to a lack of understanding of the condition, it is often mistreated or ignored.
Whiplash often occurs when a sudden acceleration and deceleration force cause rapid forward and backward movement of the head and neck. While people often associate whiplash with auto accidents, it can also happen with physical abuse, sports injury, or by being punch.
Whiplash injury describes damage to both the soft tissues and the bone structure. Fortunately, whiplash is not a life-threatening injury but without proper care can lead to a prolonged period of partial disability.
Symptoms of Whiplash
It is often hard to ignore the pain of whiplash. Some of the symptoms you may experience include:
- Pain when rocking your head from side to side
- Decreased range of motion
- Tightness in the neck
- Tenderness
- Pain or stiffness when moving your head
- Headaches at the base of the skull
- Dizziness
- Worsening of pain when you move the neck
- Fatigue
Some people may also experience additional symptoms including:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Blurred vision
- Irritability
- Sleep disturbances
- Ringing in the ear
- Memory problems
- Depression
While some people may experience the neck strain immediately after being involved in the accidents, for others, it can take up to a few days or weeks to experience the pain
How Chiropractors Diagnose Whiplash Injury?
To diagnose whiplash injury, a chiropractor will take a thorough history of the injury and your previous medical history. Pre-existing medical conditions such as arthritis can increase the severity of whiplash. Next, the chiropractor will ask a few questions that reveal the details of the injury-related incident.
How Long Does Whiplash Last?
While for some people the pain goes away within a few days, for others it may take up to a few months or years to get relief. However, studies have shown that approx. 12 percent to 50 percent of people still experience pain in the neck even after a year. You are more likely to experience pain if:
- The pain develops right after the accident
- You experience severe pain from the beginning
- The pain shoots in the arm
- You are experiencing memory loss
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What Chiropractic Care Treatment
The chiropractor helps the patient reduce inflammation using various therapy modalities. The treatment plan depends on the severity of your injury. However, the most common technique of treatment is spinal manipulation.
Flexion-Distraction Technique
This technique is a gentle and non-thrusting type of spinal manipulation that helps treat the pain without medicine. Sometimes the whiplash injury can aggravate a herniated disc and this technique help treat a herniated disc.
Instrument-Assisted Manipulation
Another non-thrusting technique, instrument assisted manipulation is one of the most commonly used techniques by chiropractors to help the patient get relief from pain. Using a specialized hand-held instrument, the chiropractor will apply force without thrusting into the spine.
This technique is useful for older patients who have degenerative joint syndrome.
Spinal Manipulation
The chiropractor will identify the spinal joints that are restricted or show subluxations.
Using spinal manipulations, he will help restore the motion to the joint with a gentle thrusting technique. Along with spinal manipulation, the chiropractor may also use some manual therapies including:
- Joint stretching
- Resistance techniques
- Instrument assisted soft tissue therapy
- Trigger point therapy
Chiropractors treat the person as a whole and do not focus on the painful problem. According to them, prevention is the key to good long term health.
Dr. Grant’s Accidents and Injuries Clinic forWhiplash Injury
Dr. Grant is a certified chiropractic physician and has a practice of more than 30 years.
At the Accidents and Injuries Clinic, Dr. Grant has state of the art equipment that you would need, including devices for spinal decompression and laser treatment. The clinic has a neuro flex decompression machine and Class 4 lasers that phenomenally aid the recovery process.
If you are suffering from whiplash injury, or know someone who is in immense discomfort, you can easily get in touch with Dr. Grant and his team at the Accidents and Injuries Clinic. You can also explore more options and get further information at www.saltlakeinjurychiro.com.
