Alleviating Whiplash Injury With Decompression Therapy

Introduction

The neck holds the head in place in the body like the lower back has the upper body. The neck’s primary function is to support the head and allow it to turn left to right, rotate both counters and clockwise, and stretch to some extent. The neck is part of the cervical area of the spine and is composed of soft tissue muscles, ligaments, and nerve roots that connect to the central nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. However, like the lower back, the neck is sustainable to injuries that can affect a person. This could be numerous scenarios like an auto accident, neck strains, poor posture, or stiff neck muscles that cause the neck to ache and tense up. Fortunately, non-surgical treatments can help alleviate neck stiffness and bring back mobility to the neck muscles. Today’s article focuses on how whiplash injuries occur, their symptoms, and how cervical decompression can help alleviate whiplash on a person’s neck. By referring patients to qualified and skilled providers specializing in spinal decompression therapy. To that end, and when appropriate, we advise our patients to refer to our associated medical providers based on their examination. We find that education is the key to asking valuable questions to our providers. Dr. Alex Jimenez DC provides this information as an educational service only. Disclaimer

Can my insurance cover it? Yes, it may. If you are uncertain, here is the link to all the insurance providers we cover. If you have any questions, please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900.

How Does Whiplash Injuries Occur?

Whiplash is a common injury in many auto accidents and can range from mild to severe depending on which neck muscle is affected or injured. Since the neck is composed of soft tissue muscle, ligaments, and nerves that help protect the cervical area of the spine, injuries can occur to the neck, causing unwanted symptoms like whiplash to cause many issues to the neck. Research studies have found that whiplashes happen when a person has a traumatic experience that causes their neck to be forcefully moved back and forth rapidly like a whip. Other research studies have mentioned that since auto accidents like rear-end collisions are the leading causes of whiplash, other causes like trauma due to sports injuries like football or contact sports can also cause whiplash to occur in the individual. 

The Symptoms

When a person gets rear-ended from an auto collision or suffers from a brutal fall due to a sports injury, it can impact the body and the neck, causing unwanted symptoms to occur. Research studies have shown that a whiplash injury causes hyperextension to the neck muscles causing the individual to jerk forward and whip back rapidly, causing pain and injuring the ligaments to the neck. This causes various issues in the aftermath after a person suffers from whiplash and has neck-related symptoms pop up. Other research studies have stated that some of the signs that occur after whiplash has affected a person include:

• Neck pain
• Headaches
• Vertigo
• Numbness
• Muscle spasms
• Stiff neck

When this happens to many individuals suffering from whiplash, treatments can help with whiplash symptoms and ease the neck back to functioning normally.

Cervical Decompression Therapy For Whiplash-Video

Are you feeling stiffness from turning your neck side to side? How about headaches forming after suffering from an auto accident? How about feeling the case of vertigo after getting up from a sports injury? This is due to whiplash, and cervical decompression can help restore the functionality of the neck. The video above explains how cervical decompression therapy can help alleviate the causes and symptoms of neck pain. What cervical decompression does is that it gently releases the compressed disc in the cervical area through traction and takes the pressure off any injured nerve roots that can cause an individual to be in pain. This non-surgical therapy will relieve the neck and reduce the symptoms that neck injuries have caused. Suppose you want to learn more about cervical decompression therapy and how it can benefit you. In that case, this link will explain what cervical decompression does and reduces neck pain.

How Cervical Decompression Therapy Alleviates Whiplash

Since whiplash is commonly caused by rear-end motor accidents, as stated earlier, the pain can range from mild to severe depending on how injured the neck muscles are and how severe the accident has caused. When this happens, various treatment options can help alleviate the pain and restore the functionality of the neck muscles. Cervical decompression helps loosen up the stiff muscles caused by whiplash and restore the neck function. Research studies have shown that cervical decompression therapy is a non-surgical treatment that can help with recovery by improving neurologic function and helping with mobilization of the neck. Since some of the symptoms of whiplash include muscle stiffness and weakness, neck pain, and headaches, cervical decompression allows the neck muscles to relax through gentle stretching. Cervical decompression therapy enables the pressure to be taken off the anterior nerve root around the cervical area on the spine and causes relief to the individual. Other research studies have shown that when the anterior nerve root goes through cervical decompression therapy, it improves the nerve sensation, and strength is restored in certain neck muscle groups and diminishes the pain from the neck.

Conclusion

Overall, the neck’s primary function is to ensure that the head stays upright while doing everyday movements without feeling any pain in the neck muscles. When a person gets injured and their neck jerks back and forth abruptly can cause whiplash to the neck and unleash a variety of symptoms that can cause the neck to become stiff and be in constant pain. A whiplash is a common form of neck pain that usually involves trauma from a sports injury or an auto accident, and the pain ranges from mild to severe depending on the neck muscles that were injured. Non-surgical treatments like cervical decompression can help alleviate neck pain by using traction to gently stretch the spine in the cervical area and take the pressure off the cervical nerve roots. When individuals utilize cervical decompression as part of their wellness journey for neck pain they are in, they can feel instant relief and improve their neck mobility.

References

Chen, T Y, et al. “The Role of Decompression for Acute Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury in Cervical Spondylosis.” Spine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 15 Nov. 1998, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9836353/.

Matz;Holly LT;Groff MW;Vresilovic EJ;Anderson PA;Heary RF;Kaiser MG;Mummaneni PV;Ryken TC;Choudhri TF;Resnick DK; ;, Paul G. “Indications for Anterior Cervical Decompression for the Treatment of Cervical Degenerative Radiculopathy.” Journal of Neurosurgery. Spine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2009, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19769497/.

Medical Professional, Cleveland Clinic. “Whiplash (Neck Strain/Neck Sprain): Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, 7 Oct. 2020, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11982-whiplash-neck-strain-neck-sprain.

Staff, Mayo Clinic. “Whiplash.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 11 Feb. 2022, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/symptoms-causes/syc-20378921.

Tanaka, Nobuhiro, et al. “Pathology and Treatment of Traumatic Cervical Spine Syndrome: Whiplash Injury.” Advances in Orthopedics, Hindawi, 28 Feb. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5851023/.

Yadla, Sanjay, et al. “Whiplash: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Associated Injuries.” Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, Humana Press Inc, Mar. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684148/.

Disclaimer