Chiropractor: Why You Should Never Underestimate a Whiplash Injury
Neck pain is both literally and figuratively a pain in the neck for most people. A chiropractor in Brick, NJ or anywhere else will tell you that ignoring the pain is not the best thing to do as it could be a sign of a more serious problem. Your injury might be deeply rooted in the soft tissue, causing sprain or strain on your neck. This is a common occurrence in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) but can also happen in sports, at work, during a fall and other incidents. According to the American Chiropractic Association, 53 percent of all MVCs include head/neck trauma and whiplash injury.
Effects of a Whiplash Injury
The initial injury damages many parts of the body including disks, nerves, blood vessels, cervical muscles and ligaments before it reaches the soft tissue. While not fatal, a whiplash injury can cause great discomfort with a wide variety of symptoms that might not manifest right away.
Common symptoms include headaches, fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, dizziness, jaw pain, visual disturbances, back pain, shoulder pain and even ringing in the ears. Severe whiplash injuries might even present chronic symptoms.
Diagnosing Whiplash
Whiplash could be hard to diagnose due to its varied symptoms. It is the reason why many just shrug and consider it normal neck pain. Fortunately, with the many studies conducted by researchers, there are now some ways to predict a whiplash outcome in individuals involved in a MVC. Basically, a chiropractor will look through a patient’s medical and injury history to rule out pre-existing conditions. After that, a patient will be examined, focusing on the neuromusculoskeletal system and asked about what could have caused the injury.
Chiropractic Treatment
Just like with neck pain, chiropractic treatment is also effective in treating whiplash symptoms. According to the ACA, this has already been established early in a study conducted by Woodward and Cook in 1996. The results indicated that 93 percent of the patients involved in the study have improved. After the initial foam collar and ice compress, a chiropractic neck adjustment helps the patient recover faster. The neck adjustment helps improve the mobility of the spine, increase the range of motion and enhance the movement of the adjoining muscles. Continuous chiropractic treatment can gradually decrease pain, stiffness and soreness.
If you suspect that you are suffering from a whiplash injury, you should not delay finding the right treatment. A skilled chiropractor in Brick, NJ like Dr. Ted Koziol from Back and Neck Center of Brick, LLC might be able to help you come up with a treatment plan.
Sources:
Whiplash: More than Standard Neck Pain, American Chiropractic Association
Chiropractic Treatment of Whiplash, American Chiropractic Association
