Read This If You Have Whiplash

Often associated with rear-end collisions, whiplash is a painful neck injury that happens when your head is strongly thrown in a sudden, back-and-forth motion. Unlike any other form of injury, whiplash is invisible to the naked eye. But that doesn’t mean that it is not serious.

Its aftermath can painfully linger in a victim’s body and may lead to some chronic pain. Worse, its symptoms are almost impossible to ignore and can affect your life tremendously. 

In this blog, we will explain why you must consider chiropractic for whiplash relief in Sioux Falls. But before we do, let us first learn some interesting facts about whiplash.

 Realities of Whiplash You Probably Didn’t Know 

Car accidents happen every day in different parts of the country. Whiplash, a form of neck trauma, accounts for one of the most common injuries caused by these car accidents. However, there’s a handful of misconceptions about whiplash and its complications. Therefore, it is important to learn about these realities to understand better what whiplash is.  

1. Car accidents aren’t the only cause of whiplash

As mentioned, car accidents are the most common cause of whiplash. However, this injury can also happen from slip and fall accidents and sports injuries. A victim of physical abuse may also get whiplash injury after being shaken violently by the shoulders. 

2. Whiplash is beyond neck pain

Neck pain is just one of the symptoms that you can experience if you have whiplash. You can also feel some pain in the upper back and shoulder. Other symptoms of whiplash include:

• Pain, tingling, and numbness in the arms and legs
• Weakness in one arm or leg
• Muscle spasm
• Difficulty in swallowing foods or drinks
• Ringing or buzzing sound in the ear
• Sleep problems
• Spinning sensations or vertigo
• Dizziness
• Extreme fatigue

3. Delayed or late whiplash symptoms exist (watch out for them)

Symptoms of whiplash often appear hours, days, or weeks after the initial trauma. But in some cases, the symptoms present months after the injury. So, suppose you have been involved in a car accident or any accident that has affected your neck. In that case, you must seek professional health care as soon as possible. This is to determine whether your neck has sustained a whiplash injury and for future problems to be avoided. 

4. Too much resting after whiplash is NOT good

Moving from one place to another after whiplash may seem like a heavy burden to you. But you’re doing yourself some favor if you allow your body to be physically active in the midst of your pain. Prolonged rest would just delay your recovery. 

Keep your neck flexible to avoid stiffness. You may have to ease or slow down your body, but you shouldn’t let the pain and discomfort keep you from staying active.

Whiplash Complications – When It Gets Serious

If you’ve been in a kind of accident that involves your neck, you probably have an idea of the long-term effects of whiplash. As the head snaps back and forth, whiplash can damage the neck. As a result, it can harm the muscles, ligaments, and vertebrae in the upper cervical spine.

Signs of whiplash become more noticeable in the days after the initial trauma. Here are some of the long-term complications of whiplash:

Upper cervical misalignment

Whiplash can put the upper cervical spine through extreme stress. In addition, the quick and forced motion of the head during the accident can cause this area of your body to snap, resulting in upper cervical misalignment.

Persistent pain and stiffness in the neck and back

Whiplash can cause mild to severe complications to the specific nerves inside your neck’s joint. With this, you can experience persistent pain, tightness, stiffness, and decreased range of motion in the neck area. These symptoms can also extend down your shoulders, back and arms.

Vertigo 

Vertigo is often a result of whiplash injury that disrupts the head and neck alignment. This spinning sensation usually occurs after you slightly move your neck. This causes concentration and balance problems. 

Chronic headache 

Chronic headaches can also occur months or years after sustaining a whiplash. Many patients seeking chiropractic for whiplash relief in Sioux Falls present migraines and other headache disorders.

Follow These to Prevent Whiplash 

It is great to know that you can always try chiropractic for whiplash relief in Sioux Falls. But as the saying goes, prevention is always better than cure. So it is still important to avoid this kind of injury as much as possible. Follow these tips:

• Always maintain the overall health of your car.
• Ensure that the car’s seat and its headrest are proportional to your height. This is important to provide you with more comfort when driving. 
• Always sit upright and buckle up your seatbelt correctly. These tips are vital to helping you stay in the best position during a car accident. This can also help in preventing worse injuries that might harm your neck and spine.

Try Chiropractic for Whiplash Relief in Sioux Falls

Dealing with whiplash can be difficult, especially if it starts to affect your everyday routine. So, if you’ve been in a car accident, you should visit a chiropractor. Our team offers chiropractic for whiplash relief in Sioux Falls. We help restore the alignment of the lower brainstem, head, and neck.

We deliver high-quality care and education to our patients and their families so they won’t suffer from whiplash. Dr. Casey can provide safe and effective health care with long-term benefits such as relief from your whiplash injury. So, contact us now and experience life-changing upper cervical chiropractic care.