I have been seeing a lot of auto accident patients lately.  It is very interesting how consistent there pain and presentation is.  Most people will show up 4 to 5 days after the accident.  They will tell me they were in shock after the collision, had some nausea and later in the day had a small headache.  Most people thought they would be fine the next day.  But most people find that by the next day it is hard to lift the head off the pillow and they have pain in both the front and back of the neck. Over the day they will most likely get a headaches and have pain in the shoulders.  Advil is usually the drug of choice but most people will also rest and not move whatever hurts.  This is where the problems start.

With the lack of mobility if the patient does not move they will become stiffer, the stiffer they are the more they will hurt.  This is a cycle I see daily.  By the time the patient enters Advanced Chiropractic they can hardly move their neck and all movement causes pain.  At this point even moving the shoulders hurt.  If this is not caught soon, in the couple weeks after the collision, the patient will have a huge up hill climb to get better and that climb will be very painful.

I just had a patient enter the office two months after her collision.  She has been in some care, yet it has been very passive and directed by her.  Meaning the therapist treating her let her pain dictate what was done.  After a whiplash you need someone who will listen to you and your pain, yet have the understanding that if you are not pushed to go through some pain, you will not get better and sadly get worse.  (Yes if your pain is caused from a fracture of severe disc herniation I will not push you, but this is easy to find out on the first visit.)  Chiropractors are well trained to detect your specific injuries after a whiplash.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident and may have whiplash please consider consulting with Advanced Chiropractic in Everett Wa.  I have over 18 years experience treating whiplash and associated neck pain, headaches, back pain and shoulder pain.  It would be a privilege to help you through this rough time.

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