Whiplash and Chiropractic Adjustments
When the body is moving around quickly, and is put in a compromising position, there is often the tendency for these quick movements to cause a condition known as whiplash. This occurs when the quick snapping of the head either back and forth or side to side is met with significant force or contact.
Whiplash often occurs in professional athletes who play contact sports or in victims of automobile accidents. A football player may be tackled while running up the sideline and if the impact is great enough, the head can whip to the side on the way down to the ground. In a similar fashion, if a driver is rear-ended by a larger vehicle, the impact can end the head flying forward and rebounding backward in dramatic fashion, placing immense strain on the neck and back. The human head is said to weight around ten pounds, so the force applied to make the head whip around in the case of whiplash has to be substantial.
One of the dangerous aspects of whiplash is the delay that occurs in terms of the amount of time it takes for symptoms to develop. Once the impact occurs, the effects of whiplash may not be felt. Over time, dizziness, muscle soreness, nerve pain, and many more symptoms develop, usually within 48 hours of the impact. It is important to be evaluated by a physician after any sort of body trauma, whether you feel fine or not.
There are a variety of chiropractic care interventions that can be enacted in an effort to reduce the effects of whiplash. The part of the spine that is most affected by whiplash is called the upper cervical spine. When chiropractors use adjustments to target the upper cervical spine, they can potentially fix the misalignments that have developed as a result of the whiplash. Before the chiropractor can do anything there needs to be a diagnosis as multiple different conditions occur after a patient experiences whiplash.
Whether the patient is a professional athlete in a contact sport or an individual who has recently been in a bad car accident, they can turn to chiropractic care for a possible solution to their musculoskeletal problems. Whiplash is a very common reason people turn to chiropractic, as it can assist the body in healing. Spinal adjustments reduce nerve pressure and increase blood flow, leading to a potentially faster healing process from your injuries.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Steve Lambert