Questions and Answers about Back Pain, Neck Pain, Whiplash and Other Issues
What are some common car accident injuries?
Whiplash is one of the most common forms of car accident injury. This spinal injury occurs in the cervical region due to the head flying forward and backward. Whiplash may cause ruptured discs, neck pain, headaches and stiffness. The impact transferred to the body can also cause lumbar misalignments, muscle strains, and other injuries anywhere along the spinal column.
How can chiropractic care help with car accident injuries?
Chiropractic care seeks to correct subluxations that allow discs and vertebrae to press against adjoining nerves and nerve roots, a common source of pain, numbness, and functional problems. By realigning the spinal column, we remove the nerve pressure. This relieves discomfort and allows the nervous system to communicate with the body properly once again. Maintaining a proper alignment will also help prevent future muscle strains and chronic pain from developing.
What other natural therapies are useful for treating a car accident injury?
In addition to chiropractic adjustment, other natural therapies can provide welcome healing support for whiplash, neck pain, back pain, or other conditions resulting from a car accident. For instance, the same kinds of massage therapy we prescribe for sports injuries can relieve pain and speed healing for a car accident injury as well. Heat, cold, and other forms of rehab therapy can reduce swelling and pain as you work to regain full function, strength and range of motion.
I'm not in pain. Why do I still need to see a chiropractor?
While you might expect to experience immediate whiplash, neck pain, or other symptoms from a car accident injury, this is not necessarily the case. Back pain, neck pain and other symptoms of a spinal injury may strike weeks after the injury has occurred. During this time, clumps of scar tissue called adhesions may have formed, causing painful stiffness and inhibiting the normal healing process. An immediate chiropractic evaluation lets us identify and correct problems before painful complications can set in.
Do I still need to see a chiropractor if I've already gone to the hospital?
A chiropractic evaluation is a good idea even if you have already received examination and/or treatment at a hospital. Hospital evaluations can do an excellent job of pinpointing and treating obvious physical problems, but many of the injuries and misalignments sustained in auto accidents can be quite hard to detect in a general medical clinic. We are trained to look for subtle signs of a car accident injury by evaluating your posture, gait, spinal alignment and any symptoms you may report -- even those that might seem unrelated to the accident.
Learn More from Our Chiropractor in Vancouver, WA
Whether you suffer from an obvious spinal injury or just want to make sure that you have not been seriously hurt, our chiropractor in Vancouver WA has the answers. Contact Back & Neck Care Chiropractic & Sports Massage at (360) 253-6674to schedule an evaluation.
