Treatment of Whiplash

With proper care, many mild whiplash injuries heal within six to nine months.  However, more than 20% of those who suffer from whiplash injuries continue to suffer from pain, weakness or restricted movement two years after their car or auto accident.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of these people will continue to suffer from some level of disability or neck or back pain for many years after that, if not for the rest of their lives.

Whiplash is a unique condition that requires the expertise of a skilled health professional specially trained to work with these types of injuries.  The doctors at 4700 Chiropractic have received extensive post-graduate training in injuries resulting from an auto accident.  The most effective treatment for whiplash injuries is a combination of chiropractic care, massage therapy, and rehabilitation of the soft tissues followed by the patient taking care of him/herself at home.

Chiropractic care utilizes manual manipulation of the spine to restore the normal movement and position of the spinal vertebrae.  It is by far the single-most effective treatment for minimizing the long-term impact of whiplash injuries, especially when coupled with massage therapy, trigger point therapy, exercise rehabilitation and other soft tissue rehabilitation modalities.

The term 'soft tissue' simply refers to anything that is not bone, such as your muscles, ligaments, tendons, nervous system, spinal discs and internal organs.  During a whiplash or auto injury, the tissues that are affected most are the soft tissues, the muscles, ligaments and discs in particular.  In order to minimize permanent impairment and disability, it is important to use therapies that stimulate the soft tissues to heal correctly.  These include massage therapy, electro-stimulation, trigger point therapy, stretching and specific strength and range of motion exercises.

The most effective chiropractic care and soft tissue rehabilitation will be limited in its benefit if what you do at home or at work stresses or re-injures you on a daily basis.  For this reason, it is important that your plan of care extend into the hours and days between your clinic visits to help speed your recovery.  Some of the more common home care therapies are the application of ice packs, limitations on work or daily activities, specific stretches and exercises, taking nutritional supplements and getting plenty of rest.