Ultimate Guide on Whiplash and Chiropractic Care
While whiplash is associated with multiple incidents such as amusement park rides, sports injuries, slips or falls or work injuries, car accident remains on the top. Millions of people across the globe suffer from minor or major injuries in unfortunate car accidents, whiplash is the most occurring condition that may appear sooner or later. It’s a mild condition, though if not treated on time can result in long-term health problems including constant discomfort and intense pain. Have you ever experienced any symptoms of whiplash or can be referred to as cervical acceleration-deceleration injury?
Whiplash commonly occurs when your neck moves back and forth or sideways abruptly damaging the vertebrae of the neck along with surrounded ligaments, tissues, tendons, and muscles. In case you are suffering from whiplash, do not panic. The good news is seeking whiplash care in Marietta can help in easing the problem and prevent the condition to get worse. It’s a smart approach to learn some of the basics of whiplash and chiropractic treatment to better understand the entire procedure.
Injuries Unrelenting in a Whiplash Accident
Whiplash injuries differ from one individual to another primarily depending on the intensity of your injury and physical health. At times, the whiplash symptoms and injuries appear immediately while in other cases it may take several days or weeks before they become severe. This is particularly accurate in low-impact whiplash when the accident seems to be minor. Some of the common injuries include:
Muscle injuries
Sprained tendons and ligaments
Tense or injured nerves
Spinal misalignment or moderate brain injury
Soft tissues inflammation
Spinal and joints damage
Herniated or bulging disc
Concussions
Neck Mobility
You are more likely to use a cervical collar for some time after the car accident particularly if your injuries are severe. On the other hand, it’s a good idea to keep yourself as active as possible without losing the required range of mobility. Here chiropractic care and treatment can help in recovering and improving mobility using multiple techniques. If your vertebrae are misaligned, remember it can considerably affect the range of mobility. Whiplash is a traumatic injury that can restrict the movement of bones and muscles, especially around your neck. Chiropractic manipulation can help in realigning the vertebrae to make sure there is no reason why you are unable to move your neck.
Reduce Inflammation and Swelling
The range of motion can be improved with reduced inflammation and swelling. When the spinal adjustment is combined with rehabilitation therapy, it can help in the complete restoring of neck mobility. Your chiropractor will target the affected areas to ease pain and comfort as a result of whiplash injury through muscle relaxation. The mild muscle stretches obstruct the tightening of the affected muscles. To ease tight muscles, a chiropractic doctor will apply multiple stretching techniques. They employ a moderate finger pressure technique to different trigger points in the cervical area.
Spinal Manipulation and Muscle Relaxation
Undoubtedly, spinal manipulation is one of the most commonly used and popular forms of chiropractic treatment. The technique uses controlled stretches that can be conveniently applied to the injured or damaged muscles. Primarily depending on the tightness or restriction of the muscles, a chiropractor uses one or more stretches to get the job done. They use various pressure techniques and gentle massaging to ease pain and improve alignment. When the joints in the backbone lose their shock absorption ability and flexibility, it is referred to as joint dysfunction. As soon as the joint develops dysfunction, not only does it limit mobility but can be extremely painful.
Chiropractic Care and Treatment
Once you consult a chiropractor, they will evaluate the range of mobility using a common chiropractic technique known as motion palpation. In case you are experiencing the unfortunate joint dysfunction, it can result in intense pain and muscle imbalance. The loss of joint mobility can cause unusual signals to the nervous system that makes them tense and underactive. This leads to further muscle imbalance increasing the stress over the joint and eventually making them dysfunctional.
Chiropractors usually evaluate and treat patients who are categorized under WAD I, II, and III. Once the patient examination is complete, they recommend the required procedure accordingly that may include manual therapies, rehabilitation therapies, and lifestyle recommendations. This entire chiropractic care treatment plan is personalized according to the findings and needs of the patient. Some of the treatment options available include:
Chiropractic manipulation, mobilization, and stimulation use controlled and gentle thrusts to bring back joints into place and relax the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Muscle stimulation is another essential tool to treat and relax muscles that have been stressed by whiplash. When muscles in the neck experience repetitive tightening, this makes the neck feel tight and here muscle stimulation eases tension.
Use of rehabilitation and corrective exercises such as McKenzie exercises. Chiropractic doctors address disc uncertainty concerns followed by the whiplash. They help in correcting movement patterns and bring life back to normal.
Ergonomic advice and lifestyle changes can significantly contribute to wellbeing. They guide you on the most relevant and practical exercises and advise to speed up the recovery process and make you feel better than ever before.
Chiropractors educate the patients, carry out soft tissue therapy, and use different modalities such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation, acupuncture, and others.
What to Expect in Non-Invasive Spinal Treatment
During a non-invasive spinal treatment session, you will be asked to lie face up on the table which is connected to an automatic system. Throughout the session, you will hardly notice any movements while your spine is being moderately stretched. This allows the decompression of the spine. The entire procedure is pain-free and you will gradually feel more relaxed. Some patients may also fall asleep during the manipulation session. The therapy is performed for about 15-30 minutes mainly depending on the treatment plan that has been designed according to your needs. In general, 10-12 treatment sessions have proved to provide long-lasting pain relief.
Wrapping Up
A chiropractic doctor will carefully evaluate your spine through a detailed physical examination particularly if you are experiencing any symptoms of whiplash. When we talk about whiplash, one of the best treatment options available is seeking chiropractic care. If you are experiencing any pain or tightness in the body especially around the neck and spine, performing chiropractic manipulations can help. Using a holistic approach, they make sure to reduce discomfort and inflammation.
If you have read this, you are more likely to better understand that chiropractic care for whiplash can considerably contribute to proper alignment of the spine, increased blood flow, and quick restoring functionality. In addition, they provide other therapies to strengthen the neck muscles and relieve whiplash pain. The ultimate goal of chiropractic care is to treat whiplash and spinal injuries, ease discomforting symptoms and naturally restore and heal the body’s functions.
If you have been involved in an unfortunate car accident, do not hesitate to consult a Marietta car accident chiropractor. You will have peace of mind that you are properly taking good care of your health and preventing the condition to worsen sooner instead of later.
