Chiropractic Treatments for Whiplash Injuries

There are many negative aspects of getting into a car accident. The damage to your car, the potential increase in insurance premiums, and obviously the potential for injury. One of the most comment injuries that occurs after car accidents is whiplash, which often cannot even be detected for 24-48 hours after the accident. But once the symptoms kick in, it is a painful and debilitating affliction. But whiplash does just happen after car accidents. Whiplash is also a comment injury in sports like football, and any other activity where bodily contact can cause a sudden jarring of the neck and head. This is what causes whiplash; the question is, what are the best ways to treat it? There are a number of chiropractic treatments for whiplash, which, again, often does not show up for three months or more and can last as long as three years. The sooner you begin treatment, the quicker the healing process can begin. The first step of the Whiplash Injury Recovery Phase is the Inflammation Process. This begins immediately following the whiplash injury and generally lasts up to 72 hours and in some cases up to five days. It is common for there to be little to no pain after the hit. After a few hours or even the next morning after, the inflammation phase has begun. The muscle will begin to spasm, swell, become tight, painful, and look for range of motion to decrease. The decreased range of motion comes from the body trying to immobilize the tissue to prevent further injury. The second phase is the repair phase, which generally lasts from three days to three weeks. The importance of this stage of healing is the wound edges will begin to pull together to affectively reduce re-injury. Finally, there is the remodeling phase, which lasts three weeks to two years. During this phase collagen begins to form and lies down to strengthen the wounded area. This is what is referred to as scar tissue, which is only about 80% as strong as normal tissue. The importance of whiplash injury treatment in this phase is to allow the collagen to lay down in the correct area, and reduce scar tissue build up which can create decreased range of motion and lead to instability and pain in the future.