A chiropractor is a healthcare professional specializing in the neuromusculoskeletal system. One of the many injuries they treat is a whiplash injury. If you or your loved one was in a car accident or has recently suffered from a sports-related incident, seeing a chiropractor aside from your primary care physician is of utmost importance.
When you see a chiropractor, you’ll undergo a thorough evaluation to see the extent of the injury. If you want to know more about whiplash, you’ve come to the right place.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash occurs when there’s a sudden impact on the head and neck. “What causes whiplash?” you might be thinking. It can happen due to a vehicular collision, physical altercation, or contact sport. Sometimes, people tend to shrug off the pain because they think it’s a simple neck strain. However, it is not. What happens is that the muscles and tendons within the cervical spine are stretched beyond their limit.
Because of the sudden forward and backward movement of the neck, the trauma misaligns your spine. This is sometimes accompanied by a concussion. Once you’re done getting treatment from your primary physician, you will be referred to a chiropractor.
What Does Whiplash Feel Like?
It is quite noticeable when something is wrong with your body.
With this type of injury, you’ll feel the following symptoms:
- Tenderness on your head or the site of the injury
- Pain in the neck area
- Stiffness and pain when trying to move your head left and right
- Radiating headache
- Muscles that are hard to touch
- Reduced range of motion
The pain may start showing up promptly. or it may take a few hours before you feel any of the symptoms. It will depend on how strong the impact was.
Pushing through the pain or popping pain medications here and there will not help treat the problem. “How long does whiplash last?” you might ask. The pain and discomfort may last for weeks, even years. A subluxation in your spine will become a major health issue if left untreated. Consulting a chiropractor immediately is necessary.
How To Treat Whiplash?
Before starting treatment, your chiropractor will come up with a detailed diagnosis of the injury. You will be asked questions about how you were injured, how long you were experiencing pain, and if the pain is localized in a specific area. Further tests may be required, such as an MRI, X-ray, or CT scan, to see what’s going on beneath the surface.
Your treatment plan will depend on the severity of your injury. It may include the following:
Spinal Manipulation
This technique is usually part of the treatment, especially when misalignments need to be corrected. What happens here is that force and pressure are applied to the affected part to relieve pain. A chiropractor knows different techniques to perform spinal manipulation, such as instrument-assisted manipulation, specific spinal manipulation, and the flexion-distraction technique.
For instrument-assisted manipulation, instruments are used to correct problem areas and apply force. On the other hand, the flexion-distraction technique applies gentler and slower pushing motions to the injured area. Specific manipulation is a popular technique people think about when they hear about chiropractic care. A chiropractor will thrust the misalignment towards a specific direction to realign your spine.
Therapeutic Treatment
Your chiropractor will include therapeutic chiropractic treatment if necessary. Interferential electrical stimulation and ultrasound therapy are two effective treatments for this type of injury. With ultrasound therapy, sound waves are inserted into the tissue to deliver heat to the affected area. This will increase blood circulation and help the body heal itself.
Muscle spasms, pain, and tension will be treated through ultrasound therapy. Interferential electrical stimulation uses light electricity to activate the muscles in the problem area to minimize inflammation and relieve discomfort.
Manual Therapy
When you have a soft tissue injury like whiplash, manual therapy may be included in your course of treatment. There are problems that spinal manipulation won’t be able to address. This is where manual therapy, such as trigger point therapy, instrument-assisted therapy, therapeutic massages, and stretching techniques, comes into play. These techniques will repair the injured area and improve your range of motion.
Visit a Licensed Chiropractor Today!
The goal of your treatment plan is to improve your body and treat any related neuromusculoskeletal disorders. You can be confident that a chiropractor will be able to address the issues in your body. See to it that you finish the treatment plan your chiropractor has laid out for you.
If you suspect that you or your loved one is suffering from whiplash, you should consult a chiropractor right away. Don’t let pain hinder you from living your best life. Advanced Chiropractors Group is dedicated to connecting people to reliable chiropractors in their area. If this is something you need, contact us. We will have you connected in no time!
