Whiplash injuries can be treated with chiropractic care to help restore normal spine alignment, reduce inflammation and reduce stress on the soft tissue.
What happens to the neck and spine during a sudden impact to cause whiplash?
Dr. Scott Gardner: So, whiplash is a neck injury caused by sudden acceleration or deceleration. It causes damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the neck, leading to pain, stiffness, and even headaches. The most common causes are auto accidents, sports injuries, or falls.
Why do some people feel fine right after an accident, only to develop pain, headaches, or stiffness days or even weeks later?
Dr. Scott Gardner: There are a couple of reasons why they might not feel pain right away. Number one is their adrenaline may still be high, so that may mask the symptoms initially. And then second, it can take hours, days, and even weeks for inflammation, fibrotic tissue to build up enough that it starts to cause symptoms like pain.
How can chiropractic care help treat whiplash injuries and help alleviate pain?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Usually with a whiplash injury, the neck alignment becomes straight instead of having a nice forward curve. This will stress muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. Chiropractic care will help to restore the normal alignment and take the stress off the damaged soft tissue.
What does a typical chiropractic treatment plan for whiplash involve?
Dr. Scott Gardner: The goal for a whiplash injury is always to create that normal curve. The care consists of specific chiropractic adjustments, posture building exercises, stretches, and some form of home traction to, again, help us to regain that curve as quickly as possible. And at very specific times or intervals, we’ll do follow-up x-rays and posture exams so that we can measure and compare that progress to make sure that the problem is actually being corrected.
How does untreated whiplash potentially lead to long-term issues like chronic pain?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Untreated whiplash leads to chronic pain because over time, the loss of that normal curve can worsen, which accelerates the degenerative or arthritic process, which creates even more pressure on the nerves, which can cause neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, numbness, and even headaches.
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