Have you experienced a car accident or some other form of trauma to the neck? You may be in danger of whiplash, even if you haven’t yet experienced symptoms. Because the neck is such a pivotal part of living normally without pain, it is vital that whiplash cases be treated right away. Come see our whiplash clinic in Kaysville to ensure you get the treatment you need.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash describes an injury to the cervical spine that follows some kind of accident or trauma. The condition is named for the whip-like movement, back and forth, the neck experiences during the initial incident. This causes the muscles and other soft tissues in the neck to hyperextend or hyperflex. The most common cause of a whiplash injury is rear-end vehicular collisions, but other causes—physical abuse, sports injuries, etc.—are not uncommon.
Whiplash may be called a neck strain or sprain, but these terms are very general and serve as umbrella terms for other types of neck injuries. Diagnosing whiplash requires a physical examination which tests things like range of motion in the neck and shoulders. Unfortunately, whiplash damage is not evident on diagnostic imaging, though tests like X-rays and CT scans can rule out other issues like fractures and other bone damage.
Symptoms
It is common for whiplash symptoms to develop within several days of the injury. The most common symptoms we see at our whiplash clinic in Kaysville are centered in the neck:
- Pain and stiffness in the neck
- Exacerbated pain when the neck moves
- Limited neck mobility
Other common symptoms include headaches, usually originating at the base of the skull; numbness or tingling in the arms; tenderness radiating from the shoulders and down the upper back or arms; and dizziness or fatigue. If you experience any of these symptoms, seek help right away.
How Is Whiplash Treated?
In cases of accidents or events that might have caused whiplash, it is important to seek care right away. This is true whether or not symptoms have manifested. Injuries deep within the soft tissues of the neck or to the cervical spine can cause great damage before they even send out pain signals. Visiting a physician can help make sure those problems do not propagate.
The instinctual response for many medical clinics includes prescribing pain medications and muscle relaxants for whiplash-related pain. While these can soothe the worst of symptoms like throbbing and soreness, they do nothing for the underlying damage. At our whiplash clinic in Kaysville, UT, we get to the heart of the problem.
The goals of whiplash treatment are threefold, to control the pain a patient experiences, to restore the neck’s natural range of motion, and to help the patient return to normal activity levels. Treatments are usually multi-faceted and always individually catered, looking at the entire spine as a whole. This is why we offer many resources for treating whiplash at our whiplash clinic in Kaysville, UT.
Manipulation
Spinal manipulation is a chiropractor’s staple for relieving pain. It involves a series of controlled thrusts to restore correct spinal alignment. At Grant Chiropractic, you can rest assured that we always use just the right amount of force to facilitate the body’s natural healing abilities.
Muscle Stimulation and Relaxation
There are many ways to stimulate the cervical muscles to promote natural healing. One such treatment is the use of frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) which uses low-level electrical current to correct cell membrane receptor configurations as part of a cell-signaling process.
Ergonomic Changes
Sometimes rest is the best medicine, especially for muscles and nerves overstimulated with pain. Dr. Grant may advise you to take it easy for a while or even to wear a foam neck brace. Lifestyle choices that are already harmful to the cervical spine, such as hunching over a computer or phone, should especially be avoided during whiplash recovery. It may also be time to find a new pillow.
Soft Tissue Therapy
Innovations like the administration of cold laser therapy can also help relieve whiplash pain. This treatment energizes the cells in muscles, allowing them to better perform their natural healing responsibilities.
Therapeutic Massage
Better than a day at the spa, the clinical massage treatments we offer at our whiplash clinic in Kaysville stimulate healing. We always use gentle movements designed to facilitate healing more than to just be relaxing. You can also expect alternating application of heat and cold to reduce swelling.
Exercises
Specially-designed exercises can help restore flexibility to ligaments. This also makes regular exercise a good preventative for the worst of whiplash’s effects because elastic ligaments are less likely to tear than rigid ones during an accident initiating whiplash. Here are some gentle exercises to mitigate whiplash pain:
- Tilt your head from side to side
- Bend your neck toward your chest
- Rotate your neck, doing so in both directions
- Roll your shoulders
True physical therapy may be necessary for severe whiplash cases.
Grant Chiropractic—Your Whiplash Clinic in Kaysville
Our whiplash clinic in Kaysville, UT is a comprehensive resource for anyone in the area who experiences whiplash symptoms or a whiplash inciting-event. There is no need for you to grin and bear pain after an accident; in fact, doing so will usually make things worse. Come and see us today to start your journey to healing.
