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Whiplash occurs when the head is suddenly “whipped” in one direction—backwards or forwards—and then the other, which causes the neck muscles to be injured (most commonly by car accident)
Soft tissues tear or sprain during whiplash, causing discomfort and neck pain.
Whether they resulted from a car accident, physical activity, or workplace mishap, it is best to consult a professional to assess your injuries & get the proper whiplash treatments.
Learn more about whiplash and how to help it below!
What Causes Whiplash?
Although whiplash commonly occurs due to car accidents, you can also get whiplash from:
- high-impact sports
- amusement park rides
- falling
- work injuries
What are The Common Symptoms of Whiplash?
A whiplash injury may result in acute or short-term neck pain and movement limitations, which could worsen if not treated.
Some of the most typical signs and symptoms of whiplash injury include:
- Neck pain
- Neck stiffness and difficulty moving your head
- Pain and muscle spasms in shoulders and arms
- Blurred vision
- Headaches in the back of the head
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Ringing ears
Older adults and those who already have neck issues may be more vulnerable to soft tissue injury since weaker and less flexible muscles limit their ability to move.
However, symptoms of a whiplash injury can take years to manifest, and many people wait until there are further complications before seeking whiplash care.
What Happens if Whiplash Injuries are Left Untreated?
Whiplash left untreated can lead to significant health problems. So it’s crucial to seek treatment as soon as possible.
Chronic pain
When a whiplash injury is not treated effectively, the initial symptoms can develop into chronic pain that affects your everyday activities and quality of life.
For example, you may experience chronic cervicogenic headaches (originating from the neck) and radiating pain from the injury site, leading to shoulder, arm or hand pain.
Mobility issues
The most frequent long-term adverse effects of untreated whiplash are mobility problems.
Muscles in your neck, upper back, and head become inflamed, making it extremely difficult to move those delicate areas or fully turn/crane your neck or head.
Spinal problems
Due to the intimate connection between the neck and spine, any injury to the neck will impact the spine.
The C1 and C2 vertebrae are known to be injured by whiplash, affecting your posture, spinal nerves, and overall nervous system!
Can Whiplash Cause Concussions?
Depending on the whiplash injury, a concussion can co-occur due to the violent motion of the head.
However, not all whiplash victims will have a concussion, and not all concussion victims will have whiplash.
With a concussion, typical signs and symptoms include:
- Headache
- Loss consciousness
- Mental confusion or brain fog
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Nausea
- Memory problems such as amnesia
- Ringing ears
It is important to note that concussions affect people differently and are not always easy to identify. Click here if you’d like to find out more about concussions.
How Can Chiropractic Help with Whiplash Symptoms?
Our Chiropractors employ methods to manage injured soft tissues, joints and nerves and alleviate muscle tension from whiplash.
Upper Cervical Adjustments
As the primary whiplash management technique in Chiropractic, spinal adjustment is a gentle thrusting technique that involves locating the out-of-place neck joints and realigning them.
This can be accomplished by gently correcting the affected joint in the restricted direction.
The Chiropractor may perform gentle thrusting techniques in some circumstances or perform gentle repeated strokes in others.
Flexion-distraction Technique
This hands-on method is a mild, non-thrusting form of spinal correction.
If you have a bulging/herniated disc, whiplash injury might exacerbate it. Thus, the Chiropractor gently uses a pumping motion to the disc rather than applying force directly to the spine.
However, for many this form of care is more short term, less long-lasting than Upper Cervical spinal corrections.
Instrument
Instrument-assisted technique is another non-thrusting method that Chiropractors frequently employ by using a specialised hand-held tool to exert pressure without pressing into the spine.
However, this approach commonly isn’t as helpful long term.
Get your life back with Vitality's professional Chiropractic care today!
At Vitality Chiropractic Centres, our mission has always been to give our patients their lives back.
This means no shortcuts, only long-term solutions from our well-trained Chiropractors and scientifically proven Chiropractic techniques that promote a high-quality life.
We start with a systematic review of your history, followed by special tests and scans using the latest technology to accurately identify your source of pain before proposing suitable whiplash management suggestions.
Additionally, Chiropractic care will lessen swelling, enhance blood circulation, and shorten the time it takes for whiplash to heal.
On top of that, we are the first Chiropractors in Southeast Asia to carry out this Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic care! Put simply, it is especially helpful if you suffer from whiplash pain.
So, what are you waiting for?
Book an appointment with Vitality Chiropractic Centres today!
Written by
Shaan Rai (Chiropractic, Singapore)
Shaan (UK) is based in Singapore. He is a GCC registered Singapore Chiropractor, completing a 5 year course at AECC, attaining his Masters in Chiropractic. His career has been specialised in neurological cases, such as migraines and vertigo. He is the Chairman for Outreach and Charity for Alliance of Chiropractic (AoC) and is a founder of Vitality Chiropractic Singapore and the NeuroPro method, combining Upper Cervical techniques with Functional Neurology Rehab.
