About one-half of the millions of people who suffer whiplash injuries fully recover; of those that do, many develop chronic long-term symptoms.
Primarily associated with car accidents, whiplash injuries can also result from amusement park rides, sports injuries, work-related accidents, or even from a powerful punch or a vigorous shaking. Of course, the extent and type of injury varies, but anything that causes the head to be suddenly and violently rocked back and forth or sideways, can lead to a whiplash injury.
Whiplash injury symptoms may be one or several of the following:
* Neck pain and stiffness
* Headache
* Shoulder pain
* Low back pain
* Pain or numbness in hands, feet or hips
* Dizziness and / or blurred vision
* Diminished concentration or memory
Neck pain and headaches are usually due to tensed or contracted muscles, a reaction to limit excessive movement and abnormal jolting of spinal joints. Numbness and pain result from pressure exerted on the nerves in cases of more severe disc damage. The violent jerking of the head and neck beyond normal limits often over-stretches or tears muscles and ligaments supporting the spine, and this type of soft tissue damage causes both neck and low back pain.
Whiplash injury symptoms often take weeks, months or even years to develop. This is because adrenaline released during an accident masks the pain for some time and also because it takes anywhere between a day and three days for an inflammation to develop. Disc injury symptoms may not appear until weeks after the event that caused the injury. Unfortunately, this delay in symptom manifestation means that many whiplash victims only seek treatment after complications have developed.
You should always see a doctor immediately after an accident, even you feel no symptoms. Make sure to get appropriate imaging examinations (CAT Scans, Magnetic Imaging or Ultra Sound), which, unlike X-rays, do show soft tissue injuries.
Whiplash injuries often leave people with long-term symptoms that can only be relieved by pain killers or, in some cases, by wearing a brace for temporary relief. In 1999, an article published in the British Journal of Orthopedic Medicine stated that, “The results from this study provide further evidence that chiropractic is an effective treatment for chronic whiplash symptoms.”
Chiropractic care after a whiplash injury can help to restore movement, strengthen and tone muscles, and reduce chronic long-term symptoms. Treatment strategies differ according to the type of whiplash injury, determined by a thorough chiropractic check up. Using chiropractic diagnostic techniques (such as palpation), your chiropractor will examine your entire spine to discover any restricted joints, disc damage, muscle contraction or ligament injury. As part of the diagnostic process, he or she will examine your gait, your posture and your spinal alignment to better understand your body and how your spine is functioning.
If you see your chiropractor immediately after your injury, he or she will first address the problem of reducing inflammation. As the muscle injury heals, treatment will revolve more on mobilizing restricted spinal joints, using gentle spinal manipulation, to restore motion. Other chiropractic procedures that may be used include muscle stimulation / relaxation and McKenzie exercises. You should also receive personalized lifestyle advice to help you manage your day-to-day activities without putting undue stress on your body and irritating your whiplash injury.
If you suffer a whiplash injury, you should immediately see a doctor to determine the extent of the damage. Do not wait until symptoms appear. After you have received appropriate urgent medical care, you will either make a full recovery – or you may be faced with a long period of painful, recurring symptoms.
It is during this healing period that chiropractic care can be most valuable to you. By enhancing your body’s self-healing power, chiropractic rehabilitation will help you to overcome the long-term physical and psychological symptoms of whiplash injuries.
