Chiropractic Adjustment for Whiplash

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“I’m getting whiplash from your mood swings.”
“Ow! My neck hurts, I think I have whiplash.”
“You keep swinging around like that, you’re going to get whiplash.”

Whether it is a joke you make to your friends about their moods being inconsistent, or warning your children to be careful so they don’t hurt themselves, whiplash is talked about quite a lot.

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash itself is severe neck pain that is caused by a whip-like movement of the head going back and forth suddenly. This can happen to children when they are young when they are playing. For example: if they jump on a trampoline too hard and whip their neck around too hard. It can also happen to anyone if you are in an auto accident, more commonly a rear-end auto accident.

Treatment for Whiplash

The treatment varies from person to person. Some heal within a few weeks with the following steps:

Cold compresses

Heating pads

Stretching

Cervical collars

Over the counter pain relievers

When More Intensive Treatment is Needed

These few simple, but effective steps usually do help. But for others, it takes a bit more to heal. Some things that may help are:

Acupuncture

Physical therapy

Massages

Surgery

Chiropractic help

How Chiropractic Care Helps with Whiplash

Chiropractic help has been proven to help a lot with whiplash. The adjustments they do are a little less intensive than what is used for other kinds of pain throughout the body. As the neck is already in pain and sore, the main thing to focus on is to make sure the patient is comfortable and not in more pain.

Chiropractic Techniques Used for Whiplash

A few different techniques are used such as:

Flexion-distraction technique: Herniated discs in the spine are common with whiplash, so this non-thrusting technique helps to slowly and gently help treat those discs.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy: A chosen instrument is used to slowly and gently massage an area of the spine and neck to relieve pain.

Instrument-assisted manipulation: Force is gently applied to the spine in a non-thrusting way using hand held tools.

Specific spinal manipulation: Using gentle thrusting, the chiropractor will identify parts of the spine or neck that are inflamed and use movements to treat the specific area.

Trigger point therapy: Using their fingers, the chiropractor will pinpoint specific spots and press on the area for a certain amount of time to relieve the pressure.