Most people associate whiplash with automobile accidents, which is understandable considering over 1 million people each year suffer whiplash as a result of an automobile accident (usually rear-end collisions). But at least 3 million people combined will experience whiplash from other injuries such as sports injuries, work injuries, or amusement park rides, and slips or falls.

Whiplash is a relatively mild condition but if not addressed, can cause long-term health issues including consistent pain and discomfort.

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a term used for "cervical acceleration-deceleration injury.” Sudden hyperextension and hyperflexion of the soft tissues of the neck can cause the ligaments and tendons to stretch and tear. This sudden rapid force which moves the neck beyond its normal range of motion, causes the vertebrae of the neck to misalign and irritate the nerves, resulting in whiplash.

Whiplash Symptoms

Symptoms of whiplash don’t always appear immediately. Occasionally, there is a delayed onset of symptoms, taking a few days for symptoms to materialize. Typically they will appear within the first 24 hours after the causing incident.

Common symptoms include but are not limited to dizziness and/or vertigo, neck stiffness/pain, lessened mobility in the neck, blurred vision, fatigue, and numbness in the arms/hands. The severity of symptoms varies from patient to patient.

Whiplash Effects on the Spinal Cord

The brain and spinal cord control all functions and healing for the entire body, communicating messages from the brain, down the spinal cord, and out the nerves to the muscles, tissues, and organs.

The brain is protected by a thick skull and the spinal cord is protected by 24 movable vertebrae. The first seven vertebrae make up the cervical spine or the deck. This is the most important and delicate area of the spinal cord. Mini life or death functions of the body originate from the cervical spine.

This is why a whiplash injury can be particularly dangerous. When you get into a whiplash, you stretch and rip the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your neck, and your vertebra are not able to protect your spinal cord properly. Because of this, your vertebrae shift out of position and smash the nerves going out to the body and down the rest of the spinal cord. Not only can this cause pain, but it can severely decrease the overall function of your nervous system, and its ability to control and heal your body.

Chiropractic Treatment

PLEASE READ: You should always seek immediate medical attention following any type of injury or accident and get a formal medical evaluation before seeking other treatment options. An x-ray and scans will determine the state of your condition.

A chiropractor can evaluate your spine with a thorough examination if you have/think you may have whiplash. They will feel for tenderness and tightness and perform chiropractic adjustments to help reduce inflammation caused by the irritation of the nerves. A chiropractic adjustment will also help to re-align the spine to its proper position, increasing blood flow and restoring function more quickly. A chiropractor may also provide therapies to help strengthen the neck as well as additional chiropractic techniques (if necessary) to relieve whiplash pain.

A chiropractors’ goal in treating whiplash and spinal cord injuries is to naturally heal and restore the body and improve symptoms.