Whiplash

Whiplash and Personal Injury Pain Management in Napa with de Wet Chiropractic

Personal injury is a term often used to describe an injury most commonly caused by a car accident. It may also include other types of injury such as a slip or fall.

Whiplash is most commonly associated with rear-end car collisions in which the passenger in the front vehicle gets their head forcefully jerked backward and then forward causing injury to the structures of the back and front of the neck. It is very important to get immediate evaluation and x-rays to rule out the possibility of fracture. However in most cases, the injuries are usually to the soft tissues and joints. Chiropractors are educated to understand whiplash injury and manage the case from beginning to end.

The physical and psychological damage of whiplash can become chronic, eroding a victim’s quality of life. Chiropractic techniques and chiropractors’ skills are particularly well-suited to relieving the neck pain and other debilitating effects of whiplash because they can restore movement lost after the accident, overcome muscle weakness and enhance muscle tone, speed recovery, and diminish chronic symptoms that can persist or recur over many years.

Additional therapies may include ice & heat therapies, physical therapy, spinal exercises and/or stretches.  Repeated and effective chiropractic adjustments have proved successful for many thousands of patients. Occasionally, a cervical collar is recommended to help stabilize the neck during the acute phase of care. You may or may not be removed from work for a short period of time.

Chiropractic can, in many cases, significantly reduce patients’ distress and allow them to return to their normal activities rather than seeing themselves as invalids–as so many whiplash victims do long after their accident.

Be sure to consult your chiropractor immediately after an accident so you needn’t suffer!

FYI: See if you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or Med-Pay with your auto insurance. If you have this policy, a portion or most of your medical expenses may be taken care of without any out of pocket expense to you.