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The Three W's Of Whiplash

5 February 2015 by Julia Gregory

Whiplash is an often misunderstood condition that can cause severe pain. Both short-term pain and long-term pain can result from a whiplash injury, and if the injury is left untreated it can actually become permanent. However, if you get whiplash treated as soon as possible after the accident, a full recovery is entirely possible. To understand more about whiplash, and to recognize it when it happens to you, read on for the three W's of whiplash.

Why Whiplash Happens

Whiplash happens because of a sudden snapping of the neck. This usually occurs when you are involved in a collision. Whether you are hit head-on or from the back, a collision will cause your neck to move forcefully in one direction. The neck responds to this unnatural movement by attempting to right itself, and thus it quickly moves back in the opposite direction.

This unusual movement happens in mere seconds, but that is long enough to cause considerable damage to the discs in the neck, known as the cervical discs. Whiplash can also cause damage to the muscles and ligaments in the neck and shoulders. In particularly forceful collisions, whiplash may even cause damage to the upper discs in the back, known as the vertebral discs.

What Whiplash Feels Like

Whiplash may become evident when you start to feel pain in the neck and shoulder area following an accident. While pain is usually the most obvious indicator of whiplash, you may also feel the effects in other ways including:

• Neck stiffness: You may be unable to turn your neck to either side, or up and down, without encountering stiffness.
• Headaches: Headaches may be a whiplash symptom. At the time of impact, the head actually pulls apart from the support network of the upper spine. When the head returns to a normal position, it may settle improperly, leading to headaches.
• Balance issues: After a collision, whiplash may cause you to have trouble maintaining your balance. This may be the result of the jarring motion to the brain that happened in the collision.

What You Can Do About Whiplash

The best thing you can do for a potential case of whiplash is to seek help right away. Visit either a doctor or a chiropractic caregiver who can diagnose your condition.

Chiropractic care is often the choice treatment for whiplash today because it offers a non-invasive and drug-free option for pain relief. A chiropractic caregiver will typically begin treatment with a hands-on examination of the spine.

Damage to the soft tissues like the ligaments and cervical discs can often be resolved through the use of chiropractic manipulation. This involves the chiropractor physically guiding your spine into the proper state of alignment. Once the spine is aligned correctly, you will usually feel an immediate release from pain.

For particularly difficult whiplash cases, your chiropractor may speed up the pain relief and healing by incorporating physiotherapy, like heat and cold therapy, into your treatment.

Whiplash can definitely be beaten, but it has to be recognized and respected. Although it is a frightening foe, you can use the knowledge of the three W's to beat it!

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