We use our necks all the time, so when an injury like whiplash impairs their movement, it affects everything. We can’t easily turn our heads, nod, or anything if our neck is hurt. Luckily, chiropractors can both diagnose and treat whiplash so that your neck is back to normal as soon as possible. 

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a neck injury that occurs from a sudden and forceful back and forth movement of the neck, like the lashing of a whip. This motion can injure the bones in your spine, the spinal disks, ligaments, nerves, muscles, and the tissue of your neck. It can also be called a neck sprain or strain, but these terms encompass other types of injuries that aren’t necessarily whiplash. 

What Causes Whiplash?

It is most commonly caused by car accidents, with the abrupt change from being in motion to crashing to a stop. It can also result from a number of other things too, though, such as a sports accident, a fall, physical abuse, and a number of other different traumas that can cause this kind of neck movement. 

After car accidents, sports are another common cause of whiplash because of the nature of the activity. Collisions resulting from contact sports as well as any number of activities that can cause this movement can lead to whiplash. 

Whiplash can result from physical abuse because if you are punched, shaken, pushed, or otherwise hurt by someone else, it can cause your neck to make that forceful back and forth movement of whiplash. Since shaking can be a cause of it, babies can frequently be victim to this, because if people shake their babies, their heads will snap back and forth.

What Are The Symptoms Of Whiplash?

Symptoms of whiplash typically appear within a few days, but in some cases, it can take weeks to notice. Some of the common signs of symptoms of whiplash are as follows:

• Neck pain
• Stiffness
• Soreness
• Headaches
• Vision problems
• Limited movement
• Worsening pain with neck movement
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Tingling or numbness in the arms
• Ringing in the ears
• Memory problems
• Sleep troubles
• Depression
• Shoulder pain or tenderness

These are some of the common signs and symptoms of whiplash, but there can be others not listed here. If you’ve suffered an injury that could result in this kind of neck injury, it’s best to seek out help right away in order to avoid complications and to get on the road to recovery as soon as possible.

How Is Whiplash Treated?

Whiplash is treatable and many people find themselves recovering within weeks, so long as they follow their set treatment plans. In some cases, whiplash can result in further injury and chronic pain, though, so it’s important to seek out treatment as soon as possible after the injury. 

Depending on the severity of the injury, you may be required to wear a foam collar in order to immobilize your neck. Some people are fine to recover with at home stretches, exercises, and medication, while others require more intensive care including physical therapy. 

Treatment generally involves a variety of methods aimed at helping your pain, restoring your neck’s range of motion, and assisting you with getting back to life as normal with no fear of developing chronic pain or complications. 

How Can A Chiropractor Help Whiplash?

A chiropractor can treat you in a number of ways. Generally, when you go to a chiropractor, they will conduct a physical examination and ask for information about the injury and your personal history in order to determine both the cause and how best to treat it. 

The chiropractor’s goal is to reduce the inflammation in the neck, restore its motion, and reduce your pain through adjustments and exercises that won’t just help you now, but also help to prevent long-term damage.

Chiropractic Treatments For Whiplash

Everyone is different and the causes for their injuries differ, too. This means that what your treatment plans look like will differ from someone else’s because it’s targeted to your personal circumstances. Some of the ways that chiropractors treat whiplash include:

• Spinal Manipulation.

Spinal manipulation is aimed at moving the joint back in the way from which it was restricted through the use of chiropractic adjustments.

• Muscle Relaxation And Simulation.

This helps to relax tense, tight muscles in order to help it regain mobility.

• Exercises

Chiropractors may use a number of different exercises to help regain range of motion and maintain neck stability. These can typically be done both with the chiropractor and at home. 

In addition to these treatments, a chiropractor may also employ a number of other methods to treat whiplash. These include: soft tissue therapy, ultrasounds, and interferential electrical stimulation, amongst others. All of these are meant to help stimulate the muscles, reduce inflammation and pain, and restore motion to your neck. 

Are You Suffering From Whiplash?

Elevate Wellness can help you with any whiplash injuries. We’ll conduct examinations to find what injuries happened and then personalize a treatment method to you. If you’re suffering from whiplash, we’ll get you feeling better. Contact us at Elevate Wellness today to schedule a consultation or for any questions you may have!

If you have back pain or problems in your spine, it affects your entire life. It’s hard to do things when they hurt, and when your spine is what hurts, that impacts everything. It limits your mobility and makes every kind of movement painful. When considering treatment options, you may have come across Spinal Decompression Therapy. As with many chiropractic treatments, there are those who wonder if spinal decompression therapy even works. Why not just get spinal decompression surgery, instead?

Here’s what you need to know about spinal decompression therapy and whether or not it is an option for you. 

What Is Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal decompression is a process where the spine is stretched. It eases pressure on spinal discs with slow and controlled stretching. It’s a noninvasive treatment method that is meant to help spinal injuries without surgery. It pulls weight off the spine, allows discs to go back in place, and helps to relieve pinched nerves and stimulate blood flow to hurt areas, ergo stimulating the body’s natural healing process. It’s a natural method of treatment, meant to help your body heal itself.

Why Does Your Spine Matter So Much?

Your spine is one of the most important parts of your body. Your central nervous system is in your spine which means that when something is off with your spine, it affects your whole body. A herniated disc can cause leg pain in addition to back pain. Your neck being out of alignment can disrupt the signals your optic nerves send to your brain, ergo impacting your vision. Your spine being hurt means you will find it much harder to move. Your spine matters a lot, which means it’s vital to take care of it.

How Can Spinal Decompression Help? 

Spinal problems like herniated discs cause lots of pain, and can lead to restricted movement. Decompressing the spine makes it less likely to degenerate, as we put a lot of pressure on our spine every day. Over time, all that pressure can be quite hard on it, especially if you have a job where you sit all day, as sitting places more pressure on your spine than if you were standing, especially if you have poor posture. Problems with the spine also lead to problems in other areas, like legs, butt, etc, as mentioned above. 

Spinal decompression helps by stretching out your spine, relieving pressure and stimulating blood flow.

How Does Spinal Decompression Therapy Work?

Spinal decompression therapy is an outpatient treatment process. Sessions run between half an hour to an hour, and many people report feeling some relief even after their first session. It may be combined with other forms of treatment. 

How it works is that you lay on a table of a decompressing machine and are strapped down. The machine’s computer determines what stretching level is best for you and gently pulls your body from a resting position into a stretched-out one. As stretching generally entails, it holds you there for a short period before releasing you, then starting the process again for the duration of the session.

The computer adjusts to you and senses if your muscles are resistant. If they are, it will change the force and cycle of the stretching in order to help relieve the tension in your muscles, as opposed to pulling them and causing more damage. The machine is controlled by a chiropractor, so there is no need to worry about if it might break and not adjust to you. 

Spinal decompression can also be done manually. It shouldn’t be a painful treatment. You should just feel a stretch in your spine. There’s no need to take your clothes off at all. It can also be coupled with other treatments, as well as stretches to be done at home.

What Is Spinal Decompression Good For? 

The goal of this treatment is to relieve pain and pressure on joints and nerves. It’s good for: sciatica, back and neck pain, stenosis, muscle weakness, bulging or herniated discs, degenerative disc disorders, and more. It helps relieve pain, arthritis, realign spinal discs and joints, and relieves pressure on nerves. It also improves oxygen and blood flow. It’s not meant to merely relieve pain, but also to help fix the problem causing it. 

While good for many, spinal decompression therapy is not a good treatment option for all. Some people for whom spinal decompression therapy is not recommended for include: pregnant people, people with broken vertebrae/implants/artificial discs, etc, those with tumors or infection, who are on blood thinners, who had a failed back surgery, and more. 

What Affects How Effective It Is?

The efficacy of this treatment depends on the same factors you would consider for any other. Things such as the skill level of your provider and how credible the doctor who diagnosed you is all play factors into whether or not it actually works.

Are You Considering Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Generally, it’s believed that surgery should be a last resort for your problems, so we recommend you to try spinal decompression therapy first. 

Here at Elevate Wellness, we offer spinal decompression therapy. We know how important your spine is to your overall health, and want to help you with any problems you may have not merely by treating the pain, but the root of the problem itself. If you would like to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Elevate Wellness today! 

Are you experiencing numbness or tingling? What about sharp, burning pain from your extremities? Are your muscles weaker than normal and are you struggling to balance? Chances are, you might be suffering from a condition called neuropathy. Neuropathy is a degenerative nerve condition which causes a lot of pain and numbness in your body. If you have neuropathy, chiropractors can help you.

What Is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is when the peripheral nervous system, which is the network of nerves outside your brain and spinal cord, has nerves that have been damaged or destroyed. This affects how your nervous system works, disrupting how nerves communicate. It can affect different parts of your body. Neuropathy can be a mild problem or it can be quite severe. Depending on the severity of the neuropathy, symptoms and treatments vary.

What Are The Symptoms Of Neuropathy?

As neuropathy is a condition that affects your nerves, the symptoms you experience relate to what nerves can do. Most commonly, you may experience pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness, in your extremities or wherever the neuropathy is in your body. Your nerves impact your senses, so you may also struggle with sensitive skin, problems balancing, and weakness in your muscles. 

What Causes Neuropathy?

There’s no singular reason behind why one might develop neuropathy. There are many underlying causes. 

• Diabetes. This is the most common cause of neuropathy, with the majority of people who suffer from diabetes complaining of pain and numbness in their extremities. 
• Nerve Compression Syndrome. This is when there’s direct pressure on a nerve. As such, it can cause neuropathy, typically where the nerve is being compressed.
• Chemotherapy. Chemo is hard on your body in many ways, one of which is how it can damage the peripheral nerves.
• Aging. About 8% of adults over 65 in the United States reported experiencing neuropathy.
• Trauma. Injuries can cause neuropathy in how they hurt your body.

There are many other reasons why neuropathy can develop, including: medications, autoimmune disorders, vascular diseases, inherited disorders, and more. Sometimes, neuropathy can happen with no known cause.

Can You Prevent Neuropathy?

There are actions you can take to reduce your risk of developing neuropathy. Some of which include:

• If you have diabetes or any other medical conditions, you can make sure you are communicating with your doctor about any concerns and prevention methods. 
• If you worry about your medications being a cause, you can also talk that over with your doctor. 
• In addition, you can do simple methods of injury prevention, like keeping clean floors so that you don’t fall and hurt yourself.

What Do You Do If You Think You Have Neuropathy?

See a doctor! A doctor can run tests to see if you have neuropathy. If you think you may have neuropathy, it is important to get it diagnosed and treated, as it can develop into a serious problem and potentially lead to permanent nerve damage.

How Is Neuropathy Treated?

There are a number of treatments for neuropathy. It’s important to note that while some cases of neuropathy are curable, this isn’t the case for all of them. In the cases in which it can’t be cured, treatment is more so focused on symptom management and damage prevention. 

Here are some treatments for neuropathy. Doctors can prescribe medication for the pain. You can have mechanical aids, like braces and splints, to reduce pain by keeping your nerves in alignment. You can try different kinds of therapies, like occupational or physical. 

How Can A Chiropractor Help Neuropathy?

Chiropractors specialize in treating problems within alignment. Your central nervous system is within your spine, an area chiropractors know very well. If your body is misaligned, it can lead to nerve problems and pain and numbness. Because your central nervous system is in your spine, if your back isn’t aligned, it can cause problems in your peripheral nerves. Any problems within your central nervous system can lead to other nerve problems, like neuropathy.

So, how can a chiropractor help neuropathy? Chiropractors can help you find the underlying cause of your nerve pain, as well as pain relief. They work to try to treat the condition leading to neuropathy. A chiropractor will also work to prevent the progression of nerve damage.

A chiropractor can provide a natural form of treatment for neuropathy that is non-invasive. They can improve your standard of living in a gentle way. If you’re suffering from neuropathy, you may consider seeing a chiropractor among your treatment options.

Do You Want To See A Chiropractor For Neuropathy?

Here at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic, we offer chiropractic treatments for neuropathy, as well as other conditions. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment, contact us at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic today!