Understanding Whiplash and How Chiropractic Care Can Help

You have likely heard of whiplash as an auto accident injury. However, if you have never experienced it yourself, it is easy to misunderstand what whiplash is and what its symptoms are like. Our team at Community Chiropractic Clinic in Anchorage, AK, is here to help you understand what whiplash is and how our chiropractic care can treat it.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash occurs when the head is forcefully moved in one direction and then quickly in the other, causing the neck to extend beyond its normal range of motion. This rapid movement and straining of your neck creates trauma in its soft tissues, which leads to symptoms like:

• Stiffness in the neck
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Blurry vision
• Having trouble sleeping
• Trouble with memory or concentration
• Upper back pain

Whiplash is commonly known as an auto accident injury since the force of a collision often makes the neck move in such a way. However, whiplash can also be a common sports injury and occur during work accidents, rollercoaster rides, and head trauma.  

How a Chiropractor Near You Can Help

Your chiropractor near you specializes in treating issues related to the musculoskeletal system to provide long-term pain relief and improved range of motion. Chiropractors can treat underlying issues that impact the nerves, muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons. Since whiplash can significantly impact the muscles and joints surrounding your spine, seeing a chiropractor is the perfect choice for treating your whiplash and reducing your pain and discomfort.

Your chiropractor near you will begin your treatment by addressing the soft tissues impacted by your whiplash. Doing this is vital since whiplash can make moving the neck incredibly uncomfortable, making chiropractic adjustments and other forceful techniques harder to bear in the beginning stages of your treatment. Your chiropractor can employ several techniques to heal soft tissue injuries caused by whiplash and improve your range of motion. Such chiropractic methods include therapeutic massage, therapeutic ultrasound, and electrical muscle stimulation.

Massage therapy helps relieve tension, improve blood flow to enhance healing, and restore range of motion. Therapeutic ultrasound can penetrate deep into the soft tissues to improve blood flow, stimulate tissue repair, and more. Electrical muscle stimulation causes the muscles to contract and relax, pulling blood to the neck to enhance healing further and reduce muscle spasms. After you can comfortably move your neck again, your chiropractor can use chiropractic adjustments and other techniques to ensure optimal healing.  

Visit Your Chiropractor Near You in Anchorage, AK, for Whiplash Relief

Whiplash can cause debilitating pain and make day-to-day activities challenging, so contact the team at Community Chiropractic Clinic in Anchorage, AK, to get the treatment you need for long-lasting pain relief and improved range of motion. Call us and schedule a consultation today at (907) 222-2100 for effective whiplash treatment.