Whiplash: What Is It and How Can a Chiropractor Help?

You’re jamming to your favorite song in the car on your way to work. As traffic gets worse, you slow down to avoid hitting the car in front of you, but the driver behind you doesn’t. Crash! They smash into your back bumper. No one is seriously injured, but you are hurting—you have experienced whiplash.

Unfortunately, whiplash is one of the most common injuries in car accidents, particularly of “rear end” crashes. However, there is hope! Your chiropractor in Dallas can administer treatment to help the tissues heal and help you overcome the pain. Read on to learn more about whiplash and what your chiropractor can do about it.

What Is Whiplash?

In whiplash, a person’s head is suddenly jerked forward and then backward or backward and then forward, depending on where the impact comes from. This puts immense strain tissues and ligaments in the neck and upper spine. While this injury is not considered an emergency, it can cause severe pain and interfere with daily functioning.

What Are Some Signs of Whiplash?

If you notice any of the following symptoms after being in a car accident, you may have experienced whiplash:

• Pain or weakness in the neck and upper back
• Lack of range of motion
• Muscle spasms
• Headaches
• Tenderness and tightness in the neck or back

Often, the symptoms of whiplash do not manifest until a few hours or days after the accident.

Why Should You Be Treated for Whiplash?

Whiplash can leave you feeling uncomfortable and make life difficult, but choosing to go without chiropractic treatment only prolongs your suffering. In other words, with treatment the healing process can be accelerated.  

And what’s more, did you know that you can start whiplash treatment even before you feel the symptoms of it? Being proactive after a car accident can help reduce your pain and help you recover more efficiently, which is why you should call your chiropractor right after your accident, assuming you do not have other medical injuries that require more urgent attention.

How Is Whiplash Treated?

When you go to see your chiropractor, they will examine your spine and assess your injury. This will help them know exactly where the injury is. The next step is reducing swelling through ice therapy, if needed. Then, your chiropractor can focus their efforts on adjustments of the spine, massage therapy, careful stretches, and other techniques on that area, relieving pain and guiding the body towards healing.

Going through a car accident can be stressful and traumatic enough. You don’t have to suffer with a whiplash injury for a long time afterward and make everything more difficult. Following the accident, give your chiropractor a call so that you can get back to feeling good enough to jam to the radio.

About the Author

In his practice, AlignRight Injury & Rehab, Dr. Zinovy Chukhman (Dr. Z) utilizes many treatment protocols—including flexion-distraction and Graston techniques—to relieve pain and help patients recover from injuries. In fact, he is certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. If you get injured in a car accident, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. Z by contacting us online or by calling the office at 972-907-2800.