Whiplash Treatment in Chicago: Understanding Symptoms After an Accident

You see that truck coming up in the rear-view mirror rather quickly and wonder if it is going to stop. At the last moment, you brace for impact but have no control over the situation. As the collision takes place, everything goes black. On impact, the head naturally snaps back and then forward in a split second, often resulting in a condition known as whiplash.

While there is no way to go back in time and prevent an accident, treating whiplash with conservative care when possible may be an excellent choice moving forward. Whiplash often doesn’t feel the way people expect right away. It’s common for symptoms to appear hours or even days after an accident, which can make it difficult to know what’s actually going on.Since conservative care options facilitate the healing process to take place quickly and allow people to get back to their normal life without debilitating pain, working with a great healthcare team is the most logical option available.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash, otherwise known as cervical acceleration-deceleration syndrome is classified as a neck sprain that takes place when the head snaps backward and forward quickly. Often, this injury is attributed to automobile accidents, but can also be the result of contact sports, falls, and other trauma. Throughout the entire United States, about 2 million people suffer from this condition every year.

When whiplash takes place, the neck undergoes hyperextension and then hyperflexion, resulting in a debilitating S-shaped curve in the vertebrae. This has a tendency to damage the ligaments, tendons, discs, and muscles in the neck. Since the neck is designed for maximal movement in daily life, its flexibility is ultimately its downfall when dealing with severe impacts.

What Are The Symptoms Of Whiplash?

People who experience whiplash often have tenderness and stiffness in the neck. Also, many experience a headache, pain, tingling, or numbness all the way down the arms and into the hands. Some individuals also experience nausea, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, dizziness, and pain in the jaw.

Some of the symptoms of whiplash extend to impaired cognitive function, causing memory loss, concentration issues, problems sleeping, and emotional issues like anxiety, depression, or irritability. Since whiplash can have an effect at the physical, cognitive, and emotional level, it can be extremely debilitating.

Do I Have Whiplash?

People who have symptoms associated with whiplash and have recently gone through some neck trauma may be suffering from this condition. In many cases, the effects of whiplash aren’t experienced until hours, days, weeks, or even months after an accident. Often, these individuals don’t even associate their previous accident with the pain in their neck.

People who want to know if they are suffering from whiplash or something else should visit with their doctor, as they would likely perform a CT scan or MRI to accurately analyze the soft tissues in the neck and provide a diagnosis.

What Does Whiplash Feel Like?

In the greater majority of cases, whiplash results in pain and stiffness in the neck. Often, mobility is significantly reduced, as the soft tissues undergo inflammation during the healing process.

How Long Does Whiplash Last?

According to one study, whiplash takes an average of 101 days to recover from. Now that is a long time. However, 23% of people who experience whiplash still have not recovered after one year’s time. In other words, whiplash can become a chronic condition that can continue to affect people throughout their lifetime. This is why many opt to work with a chiropractor to give them a better chance of recovering from this condition quickly.

As far as the process of recovery goes, it depends on the severity of the situation. Since a neck sprain can be classified under four different grades, from no problems with the overall structural integrity of the neck to major structural problems, individuals in the later category are going to require more treatment and will likely experience a longer recovery time.

How To Treat Whiplash?

Treatment depends on how symptoms present and how the body is responding after the injury. No single approach is used for every case.

Many individuals who suffer from whiplash believe that they can just ride out the pain, hoping that their problem will just go away. While in some cases, a neck sprain may go away without further intervention, it is always best to work with a chiropractor to analyze the situation and administer the proper treatment protocol.

Whiplash can be effectively treated with a combination of chiropractic, non-surgical cervical spine decompression, class iv laser therapy, and physical therapy options individualized to your injury. In fact, a trained professional will be able to manipulate the vertebrae, decrease the amount of time spent suffering from this injury, and prevent long-term complications.

Let’s start with Chiropractic Care

Treatment at a professional level often begins with multimodal care that includes spinal manipulation and mobilization. In addition to adjustments and a series of controlled stretches, the goal is to focus on the direct cause of the pain, spinal dysfunction. One such treatment option that chiropractors such as ours perform are known as McKenzie exercises. The nice thing about these exercises is that patients can perform them at home, often reducing their recovery time. People who are suffering from whiplash can ask their chiropractor about these exercises to take an active role in their recovery. Also, ask a chiropractor about other personalized treatment options, as they will be able to educate individuals suffering from whiplash on a wide variety of ways to speed up recovery time.

For example, some of these home treatment options may include decreasing the swelling and inflammation by applying ice consistently for the first two days, while resting the neck to give the body a chance to heal. Then, after two days, alternate between heat and ice to expedite the healing process. After that, work through the maximal range of motion possible to increase mobility.

After a couple of days spent reducing inflammation, chiropractic adjustments are often required to restore proper function. In most cases, consistent adjustments allow the vertebrae in the neck to re-align themselves. This significantly improves the healing process, as the soft tissues aren’t placed under any unnecessary stress.

In most cases, massage and physical therapy are great ways to improve mobility and reduce pain. Throughout the treatment process, we focus on restoring the strength and flexibility of the muscles and ligaments in the area.

In the past, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used to reduce inflammation in whiplash patients. While these drugs may be required in extreme cases, the greater majority of patients respond well to spinal manipulation techniques and don’t have to resort to pharmaceuticals.

When recovering from whiplash, we sometimes advise wearing a cervical collar to stabilize the neck and prevent further injury. The idea is that a cervical collar will prevent any quick, debilitating movements that are often made out of habit.

Additional Conservative Treatment Options

Depending on how symptoms present, care may include supportive treatments aimed at reducing irritation, improving tissue response, and restoring more comfortable movement. Recommendations are always based on your symptoms, exam findings, and recovery progress.

Non-surgical spinal decompression may be used in certain cases to help reduce pressure within the cervical spine, particularly when disc or nerve-related factors are contributing to symptoms.

Class IV laser therapy may help support circulation and cellular activity in sensitive tissues, which can be useful when inflammation or irritation is playing a role.

In situations where soft tissue involvement is more persistent, shockwave therapy may be considered to help stimulate tissue response and support recovery.

These approaches are not used in every case, but may be incorporated when appropriate as part of a broader, individualized care plan.

Frequently Asked Questions About Whiplash

What does whiplash feel like?
Symptoms can include neck pain, stiffness, headaches, and sometimes shoulder or upper back discomfort. They may not appear immediately after an accident.

Why do whiplash symptoms show up later?
Inflammation and muscle response can take time to develop, which is why some people feel fine at first and notice symptoms later.

Can whiplash heal on its own?
Some cases improve over time, but persistent or worsening symptoms should be evaluated to better understand what’s contributing.

When should I get checked after an accident?
If you develop pain, stiffness, headaches, or changes in movement after an accident, it’s reasonable to have it evaluated even if symptoms seem mild.

Is whiplash always serious?
Not always. Many cases are manageable, but the presentation can vary, which is why evaluation is important.

Dealing With Whiplash

Whiplash can be a debilitating condition that is best treated with professional attention to facilitate the healing process promptly. All in all, the goal of treatment is to restore the normal curvature of the neck and allow the soft tissues to heal quickly. Working with a chiropractor who specializes in spinal manipulation, acupuncture, traction, and has a TENS machine offers the highest probability of success in whiplash patients.

At Ravenswood Chiropractic in Chicago, you have a full arsenal of tools and practitioners available to you to effectively treat whiplash quickly and safely without dangerous pharmaceuticals.

The main thing to keep in mind is that the symptoms associated with whiplash don’t go away overnight. Since it takes an average of a little over three months to recover from whiplash, patients who are making consistent improvements should maintain a positive frame of mind. With professional attention, personal rehabilitation efforts, and a positive attitude, people who are suffering from whiplash should eventually be able to recover from it.

Call Ravenswood Chiropractic & Wellness Center today for an appointment for whiplash diagnosis and treatment.

i http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(16)30192-0/fulltext

ii http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2008/06010/Predictors_of_a_Favorable_Outcome_in_Patients.10.aspx