Whiplash & Auto Accident Injuries
As a whiplash chiropractor, I often treat patients suffering with this neck injury, but what many don’t realize is that I have my own personal experience with it too. In 1994, I was in a serious car accident. The collision left me unconscious and badly injured. When I woke up, my left arm was numb, I had a severe headache, ringing in my ears, and several other unpleasant symptoms. Like many whiplash sufferers, I did not know what to do for whiplash. So, I suffered from unrelenting headaches for 2.5 years with conventional medical treatment that did little to provide the pain relief I needed. Chiropractic care gave me my life back! That’s what led me down the path to becoming a Knoxville chiropractor whiplash patients could rely on for real recovery.
What is Whiplash?
Knowing what to do for whiplash requires understanding how it works. As an experienced auto injury chiropractor, I can tell you that although it is the most common auto accident injury, whiplash can happen anytime the head and neck are suddenly jerked back and forth or side to side. It’s this “whip-like” motion that gave the injury its name. As you can imagine, it can happen while playing sports, falling down, or any number of other situations.
When the neck suffers this whipping action, it can tear ligaments in the neck (sprains), damage muscles and tendons (strains), and even damage intervertebral discs in some cases. Although disc herniation and vertebrae damage are less common in whiplash, they aren’t unheard of. In all of these cases, however, pain and dysfunction often result. Seeing a chiropractor for whiplash can help you feel better!
Common Signs of Whiplash Injury
One of the tricky things about whiplash is that its painful symptoms sometimes take a few hours or even days before they manifest. They may have what they consider a minor fender-bender and walk away, seemingly without any problems. The next day, the neck pain and stiffness begin. Headaches start to interrupt life. If you have any of these, or the following symptoms and can’t really tie an injury to them, think back, maybe even months, to when the pain began to start and think if you had a situation where your head and neck went through that whipping motion I mentioned:
Common whiplash symptoms:
Neck pain and stiffness
Difficulty turning the head from side to side
Headaches
Dizziness, nausea, vertigo
Fatigue and irritability (less common)
It’s important to see an experienced whiplash chiropractor as soon as you can if you’re experiencing these problems, even if you’re not sure why. This is the key to getting the lasting, drug-free pain relief you need to get your life back (like I did).
Can a Chiropractor Diagnose Whiplash?
Yes, chiropractors are specially trained to diagnose whiplash and have great success providing whiplash treatment that works long-term. Because whiplash is a musculoskeletal injury involving the most vulnerable part of the spine, chiropractors are uniquely positioned to diagnose and treat whiplash with non-invasive, drug-free procedures that can get patients back to living the life they want to live without pain. If you have whiplash and chiropractic care is an option in your area, you owe it to yourself to schedule an appointment with your chiropractor for whiplash relief as soon as possible. During that initial appointment, I will examine your spine, ask a lot of questions about your symptoms and injuries, and analyze your posture and mobility. This will help me create a comprehensive whiplash treatment plan for you.
Can a Chiropractor Help with Whiplash Sufferers?
If you’re in pain and wonder, "Can a chiropractor help whiplash sufferers get pain relief?" The answer is yes. I am living proof of that, and the interesting thing I’ve found when talking with other chiropractors is that many of them became chiropractors after receiving life-changing care from a chiropractor. After a thorough diagnosis of your whiplash and any other aches and pains, I wish with you personally to develop a pain relief treatment plan that will help you heal and get back to the life you want to live.
Chiropractic Whiplash Treatments
Chiropractic treatment guidelines for whiplash include a host of options that work to bring the cervical spine (neck) and other spinal areas back into alignment to alleviate pinched nerves while also treating strained or sprained muscles and even injured discs when necessary. Our whiplash chiropractic treatment techniques include:
Ice/Heat
I recommend that as soon as you suspect whiplash, contact our Knoxville chiropractic care center for an appointment. In the meantime, you can start to apply ice to the sore areas of your neck to reduce swelling and inflammation of the tissues. Later, alternating with heat can help reduce the stiffness of the sore muscles. We often do this in the office as well, and we will show you the best techniques for using ice and heat for whiplash pain relief.
Gentle Spinal Manipulation
Gentle spinal adjustment and manipulation is one of the most effective ways to relieve whiplash pain and injury. Because of that sudden whipping motion, vertebrae will often be nudged out of alignment, which can cause pain and pinched nerves. This is often the reason for the unrelenting headaches after a whiplash injury. Gentle spinal manipulation can realign the vertebrae, release the nerves and relieve headaches and other pains.
Chiropractic adjustments
Additional chiropractic adjustments may also help if the car accident impacted other areas of the spine or you are suffering any other aches and pains, regardless of whether or not they’re connected to the auto accident.
Ultrasound Therapy
Ultrasound therapy uses soundwaves that stimulate the repair of soft tissue damage to neck muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It can be especially helpful for reducing the inflammation that makes your neck feel tight and stiff.
Electric Muscle Stimulation
Electric muscle stimulation is a treatment that focuses on providing relief and healing for damaged muscle tissue. It can be especially helpful for tight, sore neck muscles.
Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage is a wonderful complementary treatment that goes along with chiropractic care and the other therapies mentioned here. It helps reduce inflammation, relax tight, sore muscles and stimulate healing at the cellular level.
Homberg Chiropractic Whiplash Treatment
Having suffered whiplash myself, I know how awful it feels, and I am eager to help you recover from your injury too! When I wondered, “Can chiropractors help with whiplash?” I discovered that the answer was a resounding yes! So, if you have symptoms of whiplash or suspect you may have suffered a whiplash injury recently,book an appointment with us today and get the pain relief you need!