Do you think you know the best way to treat whiplash? About 3 million people are said to be living with Whiplash and the majority of them are not seeking treatment! Whiplash can cause long-term damaging effects if nothing is done about it.

WHAT EXACTLY IS WHIPLASH?

The name whiplash has nothing to do with a whip, it is the common name for cervical acceleration-deceleration injury. Whiplash occurs as a result of damages done to the ligaments, nerves, discs, muscles, tendons, and the bones of the neck. This damage is caused by an unexpected extension and flexion of the neck far beyond its limit. When this happens, the ligament and tendons that help in holding the vertebra bones in the proper alignment are affected. As a result of this, the vertebrae move from its initial position, which happens to be the major cause of irritation on the nerve roots as time goes on. If this damage is not managed, it begins to affect every of the body that has a connection with these affected nerves.

WHAT BRINGS ABOUT WHIPLASH?

There is no doubt that most whiplash cases were as a result of a car accident. Although there are several other factors that can be responsible and to mention a few, we have physical injuries from a contact sport, an unexpected stretch of the neck during a ride at an amusement park and also a collision with a strong material. These alone are not the only factor responsible for whiplash, there are also some medical related issues that can open up the window. These include, arthritis, vertebral subluxations and osteoporosis.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF WHIPLASH?

There are so many symptoms that are associated with whiplash, but these symptoms vary depending on how severe and when it all started. However, here are some general symptoms:

• The patient finds it difficult to move neck as he or she used to before
• Persistent pain and stiff neck
• Fatigue
• Sleeping difficulties
• Blurred vision and continuous rumbling sound in the ear
• Muscle spasm and slight pain in hand and also the arms.

Note: Symptoms varies, a patient might be experiencing just one or two, perhaps even all of the symptoms above. Thus, it is advisable to seek the help of a professional before jumping to conclusions.

HOW A CHIROPRACTIC DIAGNOSE A WHIPLASH INJURY

The very first thing that a Chiropractor does is to examine the spine as a whole. Although, a patient might only complain about his or her neck a chiropractor will go the extra mile to know exactly what’s is wrong. There Is a high tendency that a region in the spine may also be affected.

A chiropractor makes use of a special technique known as the motion and static palpation diagnostic technique to diagnose all that he or she needs to know. This diagnostic process involves touch, In which the chiropractor uses his hands to find which area is tender, very tight and even analyze how the movement of the spinal joints. Based on this simple technique, the chiropractor is able to locate areas in which the joints have restricted movement, muscle spasm, injured ligament and also areas that sustained an injury in their intervertebral disc region.

.A chiropractor also examines how a patient walks, taking note of the patient posture in the process and also how rbr spines are aligned. All these results gotten from these examination helps the chiropractor to comprehend how the body system of the patient is before going ahead with the treatment. A chiropractor may also take an x-ray if necessary to get additional information on the stage of the degeneration.

CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT FOR WHIPLASH

The treatment basis depends to a large extent on the severity of the of the injury. However, the technique that is used often times is the spinal manipulation. There are several types of spinal manipulation techniques but I will be sharing some right here in this article.

• Specific spinal manipulation – In this chiropractic care technique, a non-thrusting method is what is used with the help of a specialized instrument. What a chiropractor does here is to apply force on the spine without a thrust. Most times, this technique is used on older patients with a joint syndrome that is degenerating.
• Instrument Assisted soft tissue therapy – This involves the use of Gaston technique, This technique is majorly used to treat soft tissues that are injured. With this technique, the chiropractor does a gentle stoke repeatedly on the injured area for quite some time, using a particular type of instrument. This technique is painless and achieves its aim very quickly.
• Flexion-distraction technique – This quite similar to the specific spinal being that it is also non-thrusting. Here, what’s treated is the herniated discs. What the chiropractor does is simple and easy, he or she gently pump the disc rather than using a direct force mechanism on the spine.

There are other techniques, but these are commonly used by chiropractor. Chiropractic care is very effective in treating whiplash. This care does not only make the pain go away like people always thinks, but it also heals the major and minor problem at the same time. More so, it is less painful and doesn’t hurt.

With chiropractic care, the whole of the patient body is examined. The cause of the problem is found before any other thing is done to heal it, meaning that there is no room for blind treatment Or treatment based on assumptions. Chiropractic care goes straight to the root and uproot the unwanted weed and nurture the weak plant s to grow again.

Chiropractic care does not treat whiplash, they also emphasize more on prevention. So it is best for a patient to seek the help of a chiropractor when he or she notices any of the symptoms mentioned above. The chiropractor will examine the patient and prescribe some therapeutic exercise to help prevent the advent of a full-blown whiplash.

Chiropractic care gives a fighting chance, take it if you are actually looking for a way to live a healthy life.

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