How Chiropractors Approach Whiplash Treatment
When you have been involved in a car accident, one of the common medical side effects is whiplash. Chiropractors are equipped to treat whiplash and use a specific approach to help you heal and move on from your whiplash.
#1 Manual Inspection
The first thing your chiropractor is going to do is manually inspect your neck and back to determine the extent of your whiplash. They are going to ask you questions about how it happened, how your body moved in the vehicle, when you started feeling pain, and what level of pain you are feeling now and when you are feeling that pain.
#2 MRI & X-Rays
Since whiplash is primarily a soft-tissue injury, your chiropractor may also request an MRI of your neck and spine. This will provide your chiropractor with additional information about the impact the whiplash had on your muscles and tendons.
If there is worry that your bones were damaged as well, your chiropractor may take an x-ray as well. All of this information will be combined together to create a more detailed picture of your health situation and will help your chiropractor develop a treatment plan.
#3 Reduce Inflammation
Once a proper evaluation and diagnostic process has been completed, your chiropractor is going to work first at reducing inflammation in your neck. Reducing inflammation is key to allowing your body the space it needs to heal.
Your chiropractor will use a variety of techniques to help reduce inflammation. They will likely apply ice to your neck and ask you to ice your neck a few times a day on your own. They may provide you with a light neck support to take the strain off your neck muscles for a short period of time.
Chiropractors often use techniques such as gentle stretching combined with therapeutic massage to help reduce inflammation in your neck area.
#4 Restore Mobility
Finally, once the inflammation is under control, your chiropractor will then work on restoring your mobility to your neck so you have the full range of motion you previously had before the accident.
This is achieved through a variety of techniques. Your chiropractor may use more traditional manual adjustments of your neck and spine at this point in time to increase mobility in your neck. They may use a hand-held instrument to apply force to your spine to help get it back in place as well. Most chiropractors use a variety of hand-held instruments to assist them with your treatment.
Your treatment plan for reducing inflammation and restoring mobility following a whiplash diagnosis from a car accident is going to be unique to your particular condition, so be sure to talk with your chiropractor about the specific methods they will be using to treat your whiplash.
Contact a medical clinic that can give you a chiropractic adjustment for more information and assistance.