Auto accidents, whiplash and chiropractic care: these items are all linked. Whiplash is one of the most frequent results of a car accident. Fortunately chiropractic care provides one of the best methods to relieve the pain associated with whiplash.
A SE Portland chiropractor can help relieve the pain associated with this quite painful and sometimes hard to diagnose soft tissue injury. Many times what was thought to be just a strained muscle at the time of the incident will become very painful several days after the wreck, because of inflammation.
Whiplash occurs when the force of a car crash pushes your body forward, at the same time that your head momentarily stays in place. That reaction causes your head to be thrown forward violently. What makes this accident so severe is the actual weight of your head being thrown first in one direction, followed immediately by a thrust in the opposite direction.
A whiplash injury could cause severe neck pain, a reduced range-of-motion in upper body and neck, stiff muscles, dizziness, muscle spasms, and much more. What will an SE Portland chiropractor use to help reduce whiplash pain?
Spinal manipulation, either with assistance from a specialized tool or by hand, will be performed by the chiropractor, who will try to lightly push your spine back into a natural position so joints may function properly again. He can use manual joint resistance, which is a sequence of techniques that employs natural muscle energy to help to repair and reposition joints. Massage is useful to relax tightened muscles, plus increase blood circulation to the injured area helps to speed up healing and reduce pain. A Graston technique - soft tissue therapy - may be done by passing hand-held instruments over any soft tissue injuries, using the gentlest of rhythms. Low-frequency interferential electrical stimulation may be applied to help to reduce swelling. Finally, direct pressure may be applied to special trigger points in your body to help relieve pain and loosen tight muscles. This may also work by helping your bones move back into more normal positions.
