When a body is put through rapid deceleration or acceleration, it reacts by hyperextension of the neck. This phenomenon is known as whiplash. Whiplash is a common and dangerous physical reaction that causes plenty of injuries. If you have been in a car accident, whiplash injuries need to be taken care of immediately.
The symptoms of a whiplash injury may take a few weeks or months to show a physical manifestation. This may fool you into believing that you are not really hurt. If you find yourself suffering from symptoms such as neck pain, lower back pain, headaches, shoulder pain and fatigue, after a car accident, a visit to a chiropractor is imminent.
Whiplash Injuries
- Neck Pain: Perhaps the most common complaint that car accident victims have is neck pain. There can be many causes of neck pain. Whiplash injuries affect all areas around the neck, vertebrae discs, muscles, nerves, and ligaments. For example, if the outer wall of a disc has been torn during whiplash trauma, the result is a disc injury that causes chronic neck pain, amongst other issues.
- Headaches: Another common complaint after whiplash injury, headaches can be debilitating if they are the result of muscle injury, cervical spine facet injury and even direct brain injury.
- TMJ: Somewhat less common than the other two symptoms, TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ) is infinitely more debilitating. Pain is coupled with mandibular (jawline) pops and clicking in TMJ. This may make it very difficult for you to continue your life as you normally would. Chiropractors are medical professionals who are trained in every aspect of soft tissue, ligament, muscular damage, and more.
Other injuries include back pain, specifically lower back pain. Particularly in cases of collisions caused by rear and side impact, lower back pain is almost always reported by car accident victims. The compression experienced by the lower back during and even after the collision is responsible for the pain.
Care for Whiplash Injuries
Chiropractic care coupled with proper rehabilitation of soft tissues is the most effective treatment for whiplash injuries. It is even more effective when massage therapy, rehab exercise and other therapies are added to the chiropractic care plan. Most people try to take these common symptoms in their stride, expecting the symptoms to take care of themselves. However, the truth is that these symptoms need to be dealt with immediately and with the precision that only chiropractic care can offer.
