Whiplash is a neck injury which is generally attributable to some kind of extremely forceful and rapid jerking of the neck, similar to the cracking of a whip. It is frequently caused by car accidents which involve being rear-ended by another car, although it is also possible to sustain whiplash through a sports accident or some other kind of physical abuse. Many times a person who has whiplash or some other kind of chronic neck pain will have their symptoms relieved in several weeks by following a program of exercise and pain medication.
In other cases, chronic neck pain will persist long after the cause of the pain, and that’s when you may want to consult a chiropractor. At Live Aligned, we are an Onalaska chiropractor facility which has a great deal of expertise in alleviating the pain and discomfort from whiplash and chronic neck pain. Contact us today for an initial consultation, and then we’ll be able to determine the extent of relief we’ll be able to provide you.
Identifying the source of your pain
The first thing a good chiropractor will attempt to do is to identify the true source of your chronic neck pain. This may be difficult to do, especially in cases when you suffered whiplash during an accident which may have occurred several years ago. In order to get at the true source, the chiropractor will question you about your medical history and your life experiences which may have affected your neck. Then he/she will conduct a thorough examination of your neck, as well as the connective tissues of the spine, before making any diagnosis.
How you can identify whiplash
Usually within days of an accident, the symptoms of whiplash will appear, and you will be able to identify them because they will include some or all of the following:
- dizziness
- fatigue
- numbness or tingling in the arms
- tenderness in the upper back, arms, or shoulders
- headaches which usually originate at the base of the skull
- decreased range of motion in the neck
- intense pain associated with neck movement
- pain and stiffness in the neck
- depression
- difficulty concentrating
- memory problems
- irritability
- ringing in the ears
- sleep disturbance or disruption
- blurred vision.
Treatments for chronic neck pain
There are a number of different treatments which might be effective in treating your chronic neck pain, starting with spinal manipulations and adjustments performed by an expert chiropractor. It’s very possible that some of the bone, tissues, and nerves have been misaligned ever since a whiplash incident you experienced at some time in the past. When this kind of misalignment occurs, it does not naturally heal itself, and must be adjusted by an expert familiar with the normal alignment of the body.
In some cases, acupuncture may provide relief for your chronic neck pain, because this can also relieve pressure points which have been exerted upon nerves to cause pain and discomfort. Shockwave therapy is another possible treatment which might be used in some cases, and this has been shown to be at effective in some situations involving whiplash. Trigger point injections are also a possible form of treatment for chronic neck pain, and these will relax the tissue and nerves at various points around the body, so that normalcy can be restored.
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