For your chiropractor to offer proper care for your whiplash injury, it's
essential for you to remember the details of your accident. Were you wearing
your seat belt? Was the car moving or stopped? What type of impact was it, rear
or frontal? Did pain occur instantly? It's challenging for chiropractors to care
for whiplash injuries because of the variables they must consider. Answering
your chiropractor's questions as best you can will help with your care.
On the first visit, after you provide your chiropractor with information
regarding your injury, he or she will examine your neck looking for loss of
motion, neurological symptoms and any spinal fractures. From the findings, he or
she will then diagnose what type of whiplash you have.
Some chiropractors categorize their diagnosis according to four stages. If
you complain of some neck pain and stiffness, the injury falls into the category
of grade one whiplash. If, however, you have lost motion in the neck and can't
flex, bend, extend or rotate it, your injury will fall into grade two. Grade
three whiplash covers any injury that involves neurological symptoms such as
numbness, weakness, tingling, or hot and cold sensations. Grade four is reserved
for trauma that causes any sort of fracture in the spine.
After your chiropractor has diagnosed and classified your whiplash, he or she
will get you started on a program of care. Initially, within the first 72 hours
of your injury, he or she will probably recommend that you apply ice to your
neck. This will prevent further swelling and reduce pain, by constricting blood
vessels, numbing pain receptors and decreasing blood flow to the affected
area.
After the swelling has decreased, your chiropractor may gently mobilize your
affected joints. He or she will perform this technique by gently moving your
neck through its normal range of motion while your body is completely relaxed.
This promotes circulation, stretches tight muscles, decreases the formation of
scar tissue and lubricates the joints.
It may also be necessary for your chiropractor to perform an adjustment, also
known as spinal manipulative therapy, to the cervical spine. This will return
joints that are out of place to their correct position, increase the joints'
range of motion, relax tight muscles, increase blood flow and decrease
inflammation.
Another helpful method of care for whiplash is trigger point therapy. Injured
muscles sometimes go into a state of contracture, which is a shortening of
muscle fibers that causes a taut band or nodule to form in a muscle. Trigger
point therapy involves deep manual pressure to these nodules, usually with the
thumb but sometimes with the elbow for larger muscle groups. This can help
decrease pain, relieve tension, remove waste products like lactic acid and
increase blood flow.
In the initial stages of whiplash injury, your chiropractor may also care for
you with physiotherapeutic tools like ultrasound and interferential current
(IFC). Ultrasound refers to any sound wave that has a frequency above the range
the human ear can perceive. To produce these waves, chiropractors use a machine
that channels electricity through a crystal located at the end of an applicator.
The crystal vibrates in response to electricity, and the machine allows users to
alter the electrical current to affect the waves' frequency. Depending on the
frequency, this can increase blood flow, decrease pain, reduce muscle spasm,
lessen nerve root irritation, break down scar tissue and speed healing.
IFC works in a similar way, but sends electrical waves through the body
instead of sound waves. These painless, mild electrical waves penetrate the skin
into nerve fibers below, which causes the body to produce endorphins, its
natural painkillers. By aiming the impulses at the cervical spine, your
chiropractor can cause endorphins to interrupt the flow of pain signals from the
affected tissues to the brain. IFC also helps decrease inflammation and speed up
the healing process.
While your neck is healing, your chiropractor may also recommend that you
make several lifestyle changes. For starters, you should evaluate the postural
positions you hold when sitting or lying down for long periods of time. If your
work involves sitting at a desk and using a computer, make sure your eyes are
level with the screen, your feet are flat on the ground and your low back is
pressed against the chair. When sleeping, try to avoid positions that strain the
neck, like lying on your stomach.
You should also avoid sports that put your neck at risk, like football,
soccer and hockey, until your injury has fully healed. But that doesn't mean you
should be inactive. As soon as your pain decreases, your chiropractor will
probably recommend that you perform a number of activities, including
stretching, strengthening, proprioceptive, postural and aerobic exercises. These
will help restore motion in your neck and strengthen muscles so that they are
better able to provide support and stability.
By combining regular adjustments and therapy with an exercise program, you
can overcome the symptoms of whiplash and avoid chronic symptoms that might
otherwise linger for years.
