Injuries can occur in even mild car accidents. During a car accident, there is a large amount of force exerted on bodies in motion. You may not feel the injury initially. However, the injury can cause misalignments in your deep tissues and spine. The pain can arise one week, one month, or even one year after the accident occurs.
Conditions Treated by a Chiropractor Due to a Car Accident
Whiplash
Whiplash is a neck injury due to excessive force causing rapid back-and-forth movement. It is one of the most common injuries for car accidents. Whiplash is often caused by rear-end car accidents. If you experience whiplash, the injury will be on the spine, disks between your back, muscles, nerves, and other tissues of the neck.
Symptoms of Whiplash
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Loss of range of motion in the neck
- Headaches often starting at the base of the skull
- Fatigue
- Tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back, or arms
Headaches
There are several reasons why you may get headaches after a car accident. The force of a car accident can cause your head to hit the side window or front dashboard. If this occurs you could have a concussion, whiplash, strained neck, or post-traumatic stress. A chiropractor can help with tension headaches. If you have a tension headache, your spine and neck is often out of alignment.
Spinal Disc Damage
The spine has 23 discs. A car accident can damage or misalign the discs in your spine. Common back injuries from car accidents include bulging discs, herniated discs, and annular tears. An annular tear is when a crack occurs in the disc’s outer ring of ligaments. Annular tears cause localized pain and inflammation around the damaged disc. The tear can leak into the spinal canal which causes a herniated disc. Bulging, torn or herniated discs might also cause nerve pain if a disc fragment presses against or irritates nearby spinal nerves.
If you experienced a car accident, it is important to speak with a chiropractor. Doctor Sawyer Chiropractic in Santa Cruz, California can help treat conditions related to a car accident. Don’t wait to treat your pain! Contact Doctor Sawyer today.