Approximately three million Americans suffer from whiplash every year. If you’ve recently ridden a roller coaster or been in a car accident, you may wonder if you have whiplash, and if so, what treatment is most effective.
Whiplash is layman’s term for “cervical acceleration-deceleration injury.” When the neck is suddenly hyper-extended and then hyper-flexed, damage is inflicted upon the neck muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, nerves and vertebrae. As a result of this damage, further impairment and pain starts to exhibit itself in unpleasant ways.
What Causes Whiplash?
While anyone can get whiplash from a car accident, amusement park ride, skateboarding accident or even just rocking out too hard to heavy metal music, there are several factors that may predispose you to being more susceptible to a whiplash injury. If you already have vertebral subluxations, osteoporosis, arthritis, or prior whiplash injuries, you will be more susceptible to such injuries.
What are the Symptoms of Whiplash?
The following are typical whiplash symptoms:
- Stiff neck; inability to move or turn neck as much as normal
- Pain in the neck and shoulders
- Pain radiating to the arms and hands
- Muscle spasms
- Dizziness, vertigo and/or blurred/impaired vision
Sometimes whiplash symptoms are delayed; they may not show up immediately, and may become worse as the body tries to compensate for injuries. You may start to sleep in an unusual position or hold your neck in a way that makes the problem worse as you try to protect the injury (and end up causing further damage).
Research that Supports Chiropractic for Whiplash
A plethora of research has been performed on the topic of chiropractic care for whiplash, proving that chiropractic adjustments (especially when paired with complementary methodologies like acupuncture and massage) are effective in treating whiplash.
One study determined that while 43 percent of patients who suffer from whiplash and only receive traditional medical treatments did not recover from their injuries, 93 percent of the whiplash patients who received chiropractic treatments experienced significant improvement. To read a report of this study and other similar research, click here and here.
