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Whiplash

Each year, more than one million people in the United States suffer a whiplash injury — most are the result of a car accident. The symptoms of whiplash often persist for years, and over 25% of whiplash injury victims never fully recover. If you’re suffering from whiplash, call or make an appointment online with Dr. Sarah Merritt at Merritt Chiropractic in San Ramon, California, today.

 

Whiplash Q & A

What is whiplash?

Whiplash is an injury caused when your neck bends forcibly forward and then backward. When you suffer a whiplash injury, your head moves in the shape of an “S.” The injury usually involves the muscles, discs, nerves, and tendons in your neck.

What are the symptoms associated with whiplash?

If you suffer a whiplash injury, symptoms usually develop within a day. Neck pain is the most common. Other indications of whiplash include:

  • Headaches

  • Lower back pain

  • Nausea

  • Decreased range of motion

  • Tingling in the arms and legs

  • Dizziness

  • Vertigo

Since many of the signs of whiplash resemble those of other illnesses, it’s important to make an appointment with Dr. Merritt as soon as possible after your injury.

How is whiplash diagnosed?

When you see Dr. Merritt for whiplash treatment, she evaluates your entire spine to ensure no other regions of the spine were affected by your injury. She pinpoints the areas where you are experiencing:

  • Restricted joint motion

  • Intervertebral disc injury

  • Muscle spasm

  • Ligament injury

She identifies these areas by feeling for tenderness, tightness, and how well your spinal joints move.

How do chiropractors treat whiplash?

Once she makes a whiplash diagnosis, Dr. Merritt uses one of several methods to alleviate your pain.

Active Release TechniqueⓇ (ART)

A combination of examination and treatment that includes over 500 unique and specific movements. ART allows Dr. Merritt to identify and correct your specific problems.

Activator Protocol

Through the use of a small, hand-held instrument that delivers a gentle impulse force, this alternative to traditional manual manipulation enables Dr. Merritt to use the least amount of effective force.

Neuromuscular Re-education (NMR)

NMR inhibits feedback signals from your neck or other affected area. Dr. Merritt puts each injured joint through the fullest possible range of motion.

Rehabilitation exercises

Stretching and movement exercises to help restore range of motion in your neck.

Pettibon tools

These enable you to actively participate in your care both in the office and at home. When you see Dr. Merritt, you don’t just sit and wait to see her. Instead, you do warm-up exercises and stretch your muscles, ligaments, and discs using the Wobble Chair and the Repetitive Cervical Traction.

If you have been injured in an accident and believe you’ve suffered whiplash, call or make an appointment online today at Merritt Chiropractic in San Ramon, California.

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