Many accident victims report neck pain in the days after a car accident. This neck pain is due to whiplash. Whiplash pain may not surface following a car accident till a day or two. The pain does not happen until a week or even longer.
Whiplash is an injury to the neck muscles out of rapid forward and backward motion of the neck brought on by a trauma (eg, a car accident). It can cause acute (short-term) neck pain as well as restricted movement on your neck. This is the reason why it is extremely important to get medical care from a chiropractor if you do not have pain or any visible injuries.
Your spine is evaluated by the chiropractor as a whole. He or she’ll examine the entire spine because other regions of the spine may be affected (not your neck).
Chiropractic Evaluations for Whiplash
The healthcare professional or chiropractor will identify any areas of spinal injury, muscle strain, and joint movement. They may use a technique called motion and static palpation. Your chiropractor will feel for tenderness and make sure your spinal joints move.
He or she will examine how you walk, and take note of your posture and spinal alignment. These details will help the chiropractor understand that your body’s mechanisms and your spine works, assisting with the identification process.
Mechanism of Injury: MRI Scan
Besides the chiropractor's test of your spine, he or she may order an MRI of your backbone to evaluate any changes which might have existed before your whiplash injury or an x ray. Your neurological and own physical evaluation's diagnostic pictures and results are compared to create the treatment plan.
Before and After X-Rays
Whiplash CT Scan
Soon after whiplash occurs, the chiropractor will work on reducing neck inflammation using various therapy modalities (eg, ultrasound). They may also use gentle stretching and manual treatment techniques (eg, muscle energy therapy, a type of extending). Chiropractors promote recovery in the affected regions, and can assist in relieving pain, by using different therapy methods.
Your treatment plan depends on the seriousness of your whiplash injury. The most common technique is spinal manipulation. Some manipulation methods utilized are:
- Chiropractic Adjustment: By performing spinal manipulation, via movements or thrusts, chiropractors can move the involved joint. This helps create flexibility, strength and promotes recovery.
- Muscle Comfort and Muscle Stimulation: Using calm gentle stretches to the muscles that are affected, tension can be relieved. These stretches can also be combined with ‘finger pressure techniques’ on certain pressure points to alleviate pain.
- Exercises: A variety of stretches and exercises can help decrease the symptoms associated with whiplash and neck pain. Chiropractors can recommend several of these to patients to perform at home on their own. This provides the patient a bit more control in the healing procedure.
The chiropractor might also recommend you apply an ice pack on your neck or a mild neck support to use for a period of time. The pain decreases and as your neck becomes inflamed, your chiropractor will execute other methods or gentle spinal manipulation to restore normal motion.
Using these techniques, a chiropractor will allow you to increase your daily activities. He or she’ll work hard to tackle any mechanical (the way the backbone goes) or neurological (nerve-related) causes of the own miscarriage.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Automobile Accident Injuries
Whiplash, among other automobile accident injuries, are frequently reported by victims of an auto collision, regardless of the severity and grade of the accident. The sheer force of an impact can cause damage or injury to the cervical spine, as well as to the rest of the spine. Whiplash is generally the result of an abrupt, back-and-forth jolt of the head and neck in any direction. Fortunately, a variety of treatments are available to treat automobile accident injuries.
