Whiplash is one of the most common types of injury sustained during a car crash, but there are other ways to get this type of injury, too. Read on to learn more about whiplash and how the team at Crossroads Chiropractic and Wellness Center in Savannah, GA, can help.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help with Whiplash?
Whiplash is caused when a massive force impacts the neck, upper back, and shoulder region of the body, causing the muscles to tighten and shift out of place.
Traditional medicine will often tell patients that there is nothing that can really be done other than rest and pain medication. Chiropractic care, however, is a field where a trained medical professional is able to slowly move the muscles back into place over a period of several weeks or months.
Whiplash pain is usually the result of the muscles not only being out of place and putting extra stress and pressure on the nerves in the affected areas but also from the inflammation that these muscles are under. As the body tries to adapt to its new configuration, the muscles become more inflamed, taking up more room and putting further pressure on the muscles in the area. The result is a cycle of pain and inflammation that the body can struggle to heal from.
Fortunately, a chiropractor can help. Multiple studies have shown that this type of care has a higher success rate in alleviating these types of injuries than other types of traditional and modern medicine. That's because chiropractic care treats the cause of the pain by fixing the muscles; it doesn't just mask the pain signals.
Chiropractic care for whiplash doesn't hurt, and in many cases, patients are able to experience some pain relief right away. Remember that the chiropractor is only moving muscles; bones are not moving. While you may hear hisses and pops during a typical session, this is only the sound of gas being released as the muscles are moved.
As the muscles move back to their healthy locations, they will place less pressure on the nerves. That will lead to fewer pain signals being sent to the brain, which in turn will reduce inflammation. Be aware that in the early days of treatment, muscles will tend to move back to their unhealthy locations, causing the pain to come back. This is why many treatment plans call for frequent appointments at the beginning.
Call Us Today
If you live in the Savannah, GA, area and you believe you may have whiplash as the result of an auto accident injury or another type of accident, give Crossroads Chiropractic and Wellness Center a call at (912) 353-7611.