Whiplash, Low Back Pain & Car Accident Injuries: What You Need to Know

Have you ever been in a fender bender and experienced stiffness, neck pain, or pain turning your head following the accident? This pain could be symptomatic of a whiplash injury, one of the most common car accident injuries. Unfortunately, after most accidents, our primary concern is repairing the car, not our bodies! That’s because musculoskeletal injuries like whiplash do not always have obvious physical signs. In the absence of an obvious physical injury, like a broken bone, it’s easy to assume that we’re “fine” and rush to get on with our lives. Doing so could be a big mistake, however.

You do not need to be in a major car accident to sustain a whiplash injury. In fact, whiplash can happen at speeds as slow as 5mph. Without effective treatment, your symptoms can worsen over time. Worse, if you settle too soon with your insurance company, you could miss out on valuable compensation for your injuries.

Our Rockville Centre chiropractor Dr. John Gehnrich has more than 15 years of experience helping car accident patients safely recover from their injuries. If you have recently been in a car accident, don’t ignore injury symptoms like neck stiffness and low back pain. Dr. Gehnrich can effectively address your pain and support whole body health without the need for medication or surgery.

4 Things To Know About Whiplash and Low Back Pain Injuries

Have you or a loved one recently been in a car accident? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Recognize the symptoms of whiplash.

Whiplash symptoms include neck pain and stiffness, restricted range of motion in the neck, tenderness or pain in the shoulder and upper back or arms, fatigue, dizziness and headaches at the base of the skull. Neck pain may increase with movement. Some individuals also experience blurred vision, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), difficulty concentrating on simple tasks, memory problems, sleep disturbances, and depression.

2. Understand the causes of back pain.

Back pain after a car accident is also common. Depending on the direction and force of impact, your body may be “whipped” or “knocked”, which can impact spinal alignment. If a herniated or slipped disc compresses nearby nerves, you may experience radiating and numbing pain sensations along the length of the nerve.

3. Seek immediate care for accident injuries.

Accident injuries symptoms like neck pain, low back pain and headaches pain will not simply “go away” on their own. While medication can temporarily numb this pain, once the drugs wear off the pain will return. Chiropractic care is an effective, drug-free and non-invasive approach to addressing car accident injuries, including whiplash pain.

4. Know your risk for injury.

When we think about car accidents, it’s natural to imagine major, catastrophic crashes, and serious injuries, like broken bones. The truth, however, is that any minor car accident can lead to chronic injuries like whiplash and low back pain.

Author

John Gehnrich Dr. John Gehnrich is a renowned Chriopractor that combines Holistic Chiropractic, Structural Corrective Chiropractic, and Preventative Wellness Care to bring world class healing to people of all ages.