Symptoms and Treatment of whiplash related to a Phoenix Car accident.

The top three auto accident injuries in Phoenix are whiplash or neck pain, closed head injury resulting in headache, and of course soft tissue injury. Let’s take an up close look at each type of these injuries, and offer some very important and crucial tips on getting medical and chiropractic treatment after a car accident.

Is Whiplash a reality or a Myth?

Whiplash is not a formal medical term. It is a non-official medical description for an injury to the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and discs) of the neck. Whiplash typically includes injuries to the joints between the neck vertebrae called facets, the disks in the neck, and the nerve roots that extend from the spinal cord in between the vertebra in your neck.

Whiplash which is caused by the sudden deceleration or rapid slowing of a vehicle in an accident. This instantaneous deceleration causes your head to “Whip” back and forth. The medical definition of what happens to your neck is that it is subjected to a sudden backwards and forward movement. Officially called extension- flexion injury.

Symptoms of whiplash following a motor vehicle accident.

Actually the definition of whiplash may include many different types of injury, whiplash normally has a lot of different symptoms. Commonly, whiplash symptoms include neck and upper back pain or stiffness, shoulder pain or stiffness, headache, dizziness, and sometimes burning feeling in the neck, shoulders, or arms. Phoenix car accidents that cause severe whiplash can absolutely cause memory problems, concentration difficulty, difficulty sleeping, feeling tired, and sometimes even depression.
Symptoms of whiplash often develop immediately after the accident and the injury chiropractors at Penny Injury Chiropractic warn that more often than not the pain worsens over time and really the fourth or fifth day following a car accident is classically the worst. Most people will get out of the car after a car accident feeling some sort of twinge in their neck, but it is not uncommon for a person who has been in a car accident to feel fine immediately afterward, and not have whiplash symptoms for up to four days. Whiplash injuries actually do not heal quickly and even if you are pain free following an auto accident injuries of whiplash remain and heal in a very incorrect way. The lack of or the decrease of pain does not mean you do not have whiplash.

If you are a car accident victim and have neck pain after a car accident, you should get chiropractic treatment as quickly as possible. If the pain is severe, you should see a doctor or go to the hospital right away.

Headache

Numerous people will suffer slight headache after a car accident even if they don’t hit their head on anything. This is realistic. Your head and neck were simply not intended to comfortably tolerate an immediate deceleration from 20 to 30 or even 5 MPH to zero. Phoenix car accident headaches can trick you by going away rather quickly, but some do not. If you experience a headache that lasts more than a day or two after a car accident, you should definitely seek Chiropractic attention. It’s better to know if it is nothing at all, or a sign of a more significant injury. A closed head injury may have occurred.

Soft Tissue Injury – Sprains, Strains, Bumps and Bruises oh my!!!
The soft tissues of the body are the body’s muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs and nerves. Ligaments attach bones to bones, and tendons connect muscles to bones. A soft tissue injury is a bruise, abnormal stretch, or a tearing of the soft tissue. A contusion is the medical term for a bruise. Medical terminology states, you strain a muscle or a tendon, but you sprain a ligament or a joint.

Symptoms of soft tissue include muscle aches and pain, nerve pain or numbness or tingling, joint pain, and decreased and/or painful range of motion and stiffness in the injured part of the body. The fact is that these symptoms can develop immediately after the accident over several days, weeks or even months. Think of a twisted or sprained ankle. Most people who have a severely sprained an ankle have told me that it is worse than a broken bone because it hurts a lot and takes so long to heal. Most people who have had a severe sprained ankle and never rehabilitated it know that “it is my weak ankle”. Please Do Not Delay Seeking Medical Attention After a Car Accident.

I cannot be emphasize this enough. The most dangerous words you can say following a car accident is “Maybe it will go away on its own”. If you even think you have an injury, pain or other symptoms following car accident, you should seek chiropractic attention immediately. If the pain immediately after the accident is severe, you should go to the emergency room. But remember the ER doctor is only concerned with life threatening injuries and none of the treatment in an ER or “Doc in a Box clinic” were intended to help with long term treatment of your car accident related injuries. Otherwise, you should make an appointment to seek an appointment at Penny Injury Chiropractic as soon as possible.

Here is an definitive fact when you are involved a car accident and do not seek chiropractic or medical attention immediately after the accident, be aware that insurance companies will absolutely think that you weren’t really injured, or you weren’t hurt as badly as you claim to have been. So, always, always get necessary chiropractic and/or medical care after a car accident as you may miss the opportunity to get your necessary health care paid for by your car insurance that you pay for each and every month!

Call Now 623-463-1000 for an appointment today!

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