What just happened? Why am I in the opposite lane of traffic and people are knocking on my window? Slowly you piece together that you were just in an accident. When you get to the hospital, they say it’s just a soft tissue injury and you’ll be fine. Fast forward a few months later and you’re still having headaches, neck pain, lower back pain, difficulty doing your regular job and not to mention lack of good sleep. What do you do now-continue taking medication, just live with it, stretch, try massage?
What Is Whiplash Really?
When you get in the average accident your spine undergoes a massive amount of force. The impact from behind drives the seat forward while your head remains stationary then it whiplashes forward to catch up creating an injury. In the average rearend accident the neck can undergo 120 lbs. of force from the head whipping back and forth. Your ligaments in your spine can fail at 3.5-5g forces which can be easily generated in low impact injuries.
Why Most Whiplash Diagnoses Miss the Real Injury
When you get to the emergency room and you report headaches and neck pain they will do x-rays and a CT scan to assess if anything is fractured. They will give you medication for soft tissue strain and tell you to follow up with your doctor. This is a poor injury work up and as a result many people don’t think their injured and wait for weeks or months to follow up. When you come to Discover Life Chiropractic you will get a full work up, x rays will be sent to Medical Metrix for excessive motion testing for ligament damage. A Dynarom will be performed to measure soft tissue damage and upper cervical instability x- rays will be taken to detect any damage that may mimic a mild TBI. Then a full report is then given, and the proper treatment will ensue giving our patients the best chance for a good outcome. If none of these are performed, how are you going to get the proper care for your “soft tissue injury”?
Common Symptoms of Missed Ligament Injuries
– Chronic neck pain – Cervical radiculopathy – Paresthesia
– Headaches – Migraines – Tinnitus
– Numbness/tingling – TMJ – Visual Disturbances
– Dizziness – Axial pain – Whiplash Associated Disorder
– Brain fog – Cervicocranial syndrome – Balance Difficulty
– Drop attacks – Vertigo – Increased Intracranial Pressure
Our Approach: What Makes Discover Life Chiropractic Different
When you come to Discover Life Chiropractic you will get a full work up, x rays will be sent to Medical Metrix for excessive motion testing for ligament damage. A Dynarom will be performed to measure soft tissue damage and upper cervical instability x- rays will be taken to detect any damage that may mimic a mild TBI. Then a full report is then given, and the proper treatment will ensue giving our patients the best chance for a good outcome. Specific rehabilitative exercises will be recommended to ensure proper soft tissue repair. All care will be guideline driven so we can get consistent results. If none of these are performed, how are you going to get the proper care for your “soft tissue injury”?
How Long After a Crash Should You Get Checked?
Emphasize the importance of early diagnosis but acknowledge that help is possible even months or years later.
The sooner you get your injuries checked the better the outcome. Too many people wait for weeks, months, or never get care and set up chronic neck pain, headaches, or lower back pain scenario. You begin healing 1 second after you get hit and if it isn’t properly guided quickly the scar tissue stiffens the muscles up over time. This is why over 50% of people in a car accident never fully heal and have pain for a lifetime.
What to Do If You’ve Been in a Car Accident
If you have been in an accident, get all the information about the accident, call our office at 253 472-4400 and let us handle the rest. We have over 50 years of experience and have partnered with attorneys and medical professionals that only treat personal injury clients. We can take care of record requests and have built a system of care to give you the best outcome and your attorney the best case possible. Call today we help new and old injuries get better!
