Whiplash affects the soft tissue of the spine. The injury occurs when the neck muscles rapidly move forward then backward, causing injury. Most often associated with automobile accidents, whiplash usually causes muscle stiffness, loss of range of motion, and pain that can debilitate the sufferer in their day-to-day activities. Whiplash treatment is necessary for many, but not all, injuries.

Ice is the usual treatment for whiplash. Patients should place ice on their neck over the injured area for periods of about 20-minutes. Other self-help treatments also benefit many whiplash sufferers. Treatments like physical exercise and stretching work great.

When ice and self-care strategies do not provide the expected relief, it is time to move on to more guided treatment. Doctors often recommend patients suffering from whiplash visit a chiropractor. The absolute best treatment for whiplash is chiropractic care. Chiropractors in Louisville are here to help!

Chiropractors work to heal the body as a whole without invasive treatments, medications, or surgeries. They believe the spine connects the entire body, most importantly which controls the nervous system and jour muscles and joints. When the spine is out of alignment, a person is at greater risk of injury and persistent problems.

Whether used as a sole treatment or as part of a care regiment, whiplash chiropractic care in Louisville certainly helps a person get back out there in life much sooner while putting aches, pains, and muscle stiffness in their place.

It Starts With the Spine

Devoting their line of care to the spine, chiropractors ensure they treat the body as a whole. Other injuries could lurk through your body that a chiropractor can find and treat. The result is less pain, improved healing time after injury, more range of motion, more energy, and many others.

A spinal examination is the first step chiropractors use to determine the type and extent of injuries that need to be treated. During the exam, our chiropractor will identify areas of ligament tears and sprains, disc injury, muscle spasm, or restricted range of motion using a strategy known as motion and static palpation. We next identify other sore spots that are tight and tender that can negatively impact the way that your joints move.

Next, we’ll perform a posture check and spinal alignment check. Poor posture really has detrimental effects many people do not realize. We work to correct posture and better understand how your spine works. We want to know the different mechanisms of your body so our diagnosis of conditions is accurate. This is how fast, effective treatment begins.

Some but not all patients need an MRI or an X-ray is taken of their spine. The MRI or X-ray is not painful nor are there any risks associated with usage. The purpose of this test is to determine if degenerative changes existed before the whiplash injury occurred.

Stages of Louisville Chiropractic Treatment

Treating whiplash through chiropractic treatment in Louisville is completed in stages. Attempting to do too much too fast would certainly end poorly. We take treatment slowly and at your pace.

First and most importantly, our chiropractor will discuss with your proper self-care tips that are mandatory if you want to heal properly. Most often, we recommend Torque Release Treatment to reduce swelling and pain. We may also recommend other therapies like deep tissue massage to exercise to help you recover quicker and more thoroughly.

Apex Chiropractic may recommend the use of special at home equipment as well. Depending the severity of the damage caused from the accident the body may need some extra help to get a full recovery but we do have the knowledge and extra tools to do it.

Our chiropractors ensure they work with your body to reduce neck inflammation before moving on to other treatments. When neck inflammation goes down via one of the different gentle stretching and/or manual therapy techniques we use, you’ll feel more comfortable, making treatments easier.

When you (and your body) are ready, we’ll then move on to our special spinal therapy techniques in Louisville. It is these techniques that we are known for -and the thousands of patients who trust chiropractic care each month cannot be wrong.

We understand that your needs are different from the next person’s needs. We know that your body is unique and needs a different approach as well. Our primary focus is providing patients with personalized whiplash chiropractic treatment in Louisville that works for their needs.

Spinal Manipulation

Since chiropractic adjustments are the most commonly used car accident treatment around, you’ll likely be introduced to our special technique, Torque Release, early on in your treatment. We use several different spinal manipulation techniques to achieve results. The chosen techniques differ based on your specific complaints and needs.

Our most popular spinal manipulation techniques include:

  • Torque Release Technique: Apex Chiropractic relies upon Torque Release Technique (TRT) because it is the first ever chiropractic technique to be developed out of research. Apex Chiropractic is more than capable of using other techniques but we choose TRT because it has been proven through science and research to be the most advanced technique in chiropractic today. There is no guesswork with TRT. Every part is scientifically proven. Our chiropractic office is the first to bring Torque Release to Louisville, Colorado. If you are looking for a Torque Release Technique doctor near you scroll down to the bottom and we can help you find one.
  • Thompson Technique: This technique involves the chiropractor identifying spinal joints that show abnormal motion, known as subluxation or restrictions. This technique uses a gentle thrusting technique to slowly restore motion in the joint.
  • Instrument-Assisted Manipulation: This chiropractic spinal manipulation technique is known as Instrument-assisted manipulation. It uses a handheld instrument to deliver force with non-thrusting motions directly into the spine.

Many Erie-area whiplash chiropractors use other special instruments to treat injured soft tissues in addition to spinal adjustments. The need to use manual therapy depends on the specific type of symptoms a patient experiences.

A few types of manual therapy your chiropractor may combine with spinal adjustments:

  • Instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy using the Integrator to perform repetitive strikes over the injured area.
  • Manual joint stretching such as muscle energy therapy.
  • Therapeutic deep tissue massage to ease muscle tension and pain in the neck
  • Trigger point therapy identifies hypertonic points by applying direct pressure to the joints to alleviate muscle pain and tension.

Additional techniques whiplash chiropractors in Louisville use to treat injuries include:

  1. Electromagnetic Infrared Therapy: One of the treatment technologies we use to increase blood flow and repair the nerve is our new Low-Level Light Therapy (LLLT). Thee light therapy signals Vasoendothelial Growth (VEGF), which signals the production of angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the creation of the new blood vessels, which is needed to repair nerve damage. These blood vessels grow back around the peripheral nerves and provide them with the proper nutrients to heal and repair. This technology has 21 peer-reviewed studies with a 97% success rate with peripheral neuropathy.
  2. Electrostimulation: We use state of the art digital electro therapeutic stimulation to assist in the growth of the nerves called Nerve Re-Education. This is used by the Cancer Centers of America in order to help those going through Chemotherapy rebuild the nerves. Nerve Re-Education can even be done at home, so therapy can be done daily! The results can be immediate in both pain relief and restoration of normal nerve function. This is not a TENS unit.

Louisville whiplash chiropractors treat the body as a whole, not just the area of pain or stiffness. They treat each patient with the unique care they need because they understand everyone is different -and so is their whiplash injury. Chiropractors focus on long-term care that alleviates the pain and stiffness rather than simply covers it up. This so often is the case when treating whiplash with medications or surgery.

How Chiropractors Treat Whiplash

A quick summary of the chiropractic treatments for whiplash outlined above:

  • Spinal Manipulation: Most every chiropractic patient receives spinal manipulation therapy which applies force or pressure to areas of the spine that need to be realigned. Find the top spinal manipulation strategies outlined above.
  • Manual Therapy for Soft Tissue Injuries: Soft tissues sometimes need treatment more specific than spinal manipulation provides. In those situations, chiropractors use what is known as manual therapy to stop aches, pains, inflammation, and other problems associated with whiplash.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care in Louisville

Whiplash injuries can be very debilitating and difficult to live with until healing occurs. Chiropractic treatment in Louisville ensures you recover faster, preventing life from taking a standstill.

Among the excellent benefits of chiropractic care, expect the following when treating whiplash:

  • Correct poor posture
  • Stop pain in other areas of the body, including the back
  • Non-invasive treatment
  • No medicine or risky surgery
  • No risks or side effects
  • Corrects your spine so future problems do not cause the same type of injury
  • Do more things while waiting for the injury to heal

Get whiplash relief from Apex Chiropractic. We’d love to provide you with therapeutic solutions at our office.

When you are ready to learn more about chiropractic care or want to schedule an appointment, call us at 720.328.1790 or send us an email.