Many people associate whiplash with serious car accidents, but in fact, the condition can be caused by a number of activities.
Any sport that can result in a fall or a slip can also injure the neck. Examples would include skiing, horseback riding, football, and other jarring or contact sports. Sometimes a patient has just accidentally tripped in the course of their daily life.  Whiplash is caused by the head flinging forward and backwards very quickly, which is why it often happens to people in car accidents. Interestingly, though, the vehicle doesn’t have to be travelling fast. A person involved in an accident at 5-10 mph can experience whiplash.
This type of neck injury, which puts a huge strain on a person’s muscles and ligaments as well the vertebrae of the neck, affects more than 2 million Americans every year. Older patients are more likely to have complications and experience longer lasting chronic pain.
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Many patients choose to simply manage their symptoms with pain relief, but in our San Francisco, CA practice, we use chiropractic techniques to get to the root of the problem.
As an upper cervical chiropractor, I use the Blair Technique to gently shift the top bones in the neck, which can become misaligned during a whiplash injury.
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By concentrating on the root cause of the condition, we can even help those who have suffered a minor injury and may not have felt pain immediately, but who later find that the subsequent overstretching of joints and soft tissues have caused lasting damage.
By correcting the position of a patient’s topmost vertebrae, we keep the nervous system working correctly to allow the body to heal, thereby relieving the long-term pain that can have such a devastating impact on a person’s quality of life, and in some cases, even mental health.
Reference
- https://www.rush.edu/health-wellness/discover-health/5-facts-about-whiplash
Call 415-362-3500 to schedule a consultation.
