Chiropractic Care After A Car Accident

By Katie Lisbon CCCA, CPLC

Many people will seek out chiropractic care after being involved in an auto accident. The majority of car accidents are a result of a rear-end collision resulting in one of the most common auto injuries known as whiplash. While whiplash is commonly associated with auto accidents, it can also result from other forms of trauma, accidents, abuse or even falls that causes the head and neck to whipped from back to front, similar to how a whip is cracked.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an accident you may not even be aware you have experienced a whiplash injury until weeks or even months later when the problem becomes persistent and leads to other issues. Which is why it is urgent to be seen by a Doctor of Chiropractic as soon as possible if you have been involved in an auto accident or any of these traumas listed above. If your neck has been injured in an auto accident or any other forms of trauma, this article will you to understand if you have a whiplash injury and how chiropractic care can help you to treat it.

When the neck is whipped from back to front during a car accident, while playing contact sports such as football, or occasionally from an assault or other physical trauma, a number of things can happen to the spine and surrounding soft tissue. Whiplash describes the initial impact, but the results can include:

• Disc bulges and herniation
• Subluxations (misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine)
• Injured bones in the spine
• Irritated and damaged nerves
• Pulled ligaments and muscles in the neck

What are the Symptoms of Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries can range from mild to very severe. One protective measure you can take to lessen the likelihood of an injury is to check the position of you head rest in your vehicle.  Injuries tend to be more significant when the headrest is positioned too low. By having your headrest at the proper position, you may lessen the likelihood of tissue damage or even prevent bone breakage. There is no way to determine the true severity of your condition just by looking at you which is why is it that you see a chiropractor and receive a thorough examination and x-rays. Even if the impact seemed mild, you may have whiplash if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Neck pain
• Shoulder, upper back, and arm pain
• Pain when turning the head
• Inability to move or turn the head fully
• Dizziness
• Ringing in the ears
• Tiredness
• Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands, and fingers
• Difficulty sleeping
• Depression

Symptoms from whiplash can vary, which is why it can often go undiagnosed or not traced back to whiplash. Even if you have been cleared by your doctor, your pain can still persist. Chiropractic care can not only help you with your pain symptoms it can also help you correct the problem, keeping the pain from coming back.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash

Whiplash injuries can impact the muscles, nerves, ligaments, vertebrae, discs and overall health of the spine, making chiropractic care the best choice for treatment after experiencing an accident or trauma. Doctors of Chiropractic are skilled at assessing the source of the pain associated with a whiplash injury and determining a plan for effective treatment to correct the problem. Chiropractic treatments are a conservative, non-invasive, effective and yet gentle approach to alleviating pain symptoms and restoring your spine to optimal health. Most patients experience pain relief after the first few adjustments. If you are ready to discover how chiropractic care can alleviate your pain symptoms and get you on the path to optimal healing call our team at Rosenberg Chiropractic today.