How a Chiropractor Can Help with Whiplash

If you’ve ever been in a car accident or sustained a sports injury by crashing into a teammate or opposing team member, or even ridden a roller coaster, you may have experienced whiplash. It’s caused by a sudden, forceful back and forth jerking, that causes the trauma to the tissues in the neck and spine. Our staff at Bolz Chiropractic wants you to know the signs of whiplash and know how our staff can treat this condition at our office.

Whiplash Symptoms

Following a car accident or other incident that causes neck and/or spinal trauma, people might experience neck pain and stiffness. However, when certain symptoms last for more than a week, whiplash might be the cause.

Whiplash symptoms include but aren’t limited to:

Neck pain

Headache

Neck stiffness

Dizziness

Limited range of motion in the neck

Whiplash affects the bones, joints and soft tissues in the neck. It can cause herniated or bulging discs, and although it isn’t life-threatening, whiplash can cause chronic pain that can affect your quality of life. If you suspect you have or have been diagnosed with whiplash a chiropractor can help.

How a Chiropractor Can Treat Whiplash

A chiropractor can treat whiplash using non-surgical therapies to help reduce inflammation, ease pain, and improve range of motion. Spinal manipulation is commonly used to address whiplash. Techniques such as flexion-distraction, specific spinal manipulation, and instrument-assisted manipulation can help different types of complications caused by whiplash.

During flexion-distraction, the chiropractor uses his hands to manually move a herniated disc back into place. The chiropractor uses specific spinal manipulation to address range of motion issues or abnormal movement by stretching the soft tissue and stimulating the spine to improve neck motion. And, instrument-assisted manipulation utilizes a hand-held instrument to apply force to the neck with forcefully pushing into the spine.

Additional Treatments

A chiropractor may also prescribe physical therapy techniques and exercises such as massage and stretching the help regain full range of motion in the neck. Massage therapy can help to relax the neck muscles and stretching can help improve flexibility.

Our office provides chiropractic services to Topeka and the surrounding areas. Schedule your appointment today at 785-272-2090. We look forward to hearing from you.