Medical News

Whiplash is referred to injuries to the muscles of the neck that are caused by a sudden movement of the head, backward, forward, or sideways during an accident. Whether these result from a car accident, sports, or an accident at work, whiplash or other neck injuries demand a thorough chiropractic check-up. The worst danger with whiplash injuries is that the symptoms can take years to develop. The basic whiplash symptoms include neck pain and/or stiffness, blurred vision, difficulty in swallowing, irritability, headache, fatigue, pain between shoulder blades, dizziness, nausea and many more. If one experiences any of these symptoms, he/she must get a chiropractic check up.

Chiropractic provides all the aspects of the mechanisms of neck sprain and hence is a good choice to cure whiplash. The aim of chiropractic care in curing whiplash injuries is to optimize motion in the spine, treat the spinal discs, reduce muscle spasm and improve muscular strength.

Since each individual case of whiplash is different, it is not possible to generalize about the chiropractic whiplash treatment. The suitable chiropractic treatment is unique to each whiplash injury and is directed at the primary dysfunctions detected during the chiropractic exam.

However, chiropractic doctors commonly employ different chiropractic treatments for whiplash, often including:

1. Chiropractic Manipulation for Whiplash: The basic whiplash treatment for joint dysfunction, chiropractic adjustment or spinal manipulation involves the gentle movement or a short thrust of the injured joint into the direction in which it is restricted, done by a chiropractic doctor.

2. Muscle Relaxation or Stimulation as Whiplash Treatments: This chiropractic treatment technique involves gentle stretches to the muscle which has excessive tension or repeated contractions of the muscle that is inhibited. Vigorous stretches may be applied if the muscle is very tight by the chiropractic doctor.
3. Various exercises for Whiplash:

Different types of exercises, like McKenzie exercises and Stabilization/Sensorimotor exercises are employed as part of chiropractic care for treatment of whiplash injuries.

McKenzie exercises are purposely designed to reduce disc derangement related to a whiplash injury. This involves simple movements which are thought initially by the chiropractic doctors but can be easily done as self-care at home.

Stabilization and sensorimotor exercise techniques are intended to correct flawed movement patterns in routine activities and everyday life. This form of chiropractic treatment trains the nervous system to better coordinate and control movement patterns, and improves the ability of the neck muscles to retain stability of the neck.

Ergonomic and lifestyle changes: These whiplash treatment ideas stress improvements for performing daily activities with negligible strain to the body. The chiropractic advice talks about factors in everyday work, home or recreational activities that bring about the dysfunctions which result from the whiplash accident. Moreover, chiropractic professionals teach the patient about the better “use of self” and, if necessary, stress reduction methods to help chiropractic problems.

Whiplash treatment by chiropractic for each specific problem may include any of this approach or may involve some others as well. The chiropractic doctor might also give a referral to other health professional, if required.

It has been a common practice of most parents to treat their children’s ear infections with drugs and surgery, until recently. In the past couple of years parents have found that chiropractors play an important role in their children’s health care.

Chiropractic care focuses on diagnosing improper alignments of the spine and correcting them by adjustments made to certain parts of the back. With children, a chiropractor only need apply slight pressure to the spine, in order to provide them with normal functioning of their nerves and joints. Unlike some Doctors, Chiropractors seek out the main cause of the health problem rather than just treating the symptoms with medication. Improper alignments of the spine (also known as subluxations) often occur during the birthing process, from falls, rough housing, or from any number of physical activities during early childhood. Eventually these mis-alignments, not being diagnosed, will irritate the nerves and interrupt the child’s ability to function properly. The main benefits your child will receive from proper chiropractic adjustment is the restoration of normal activity and continual functioning of the nervous system so that your child can enjoy their early childhood without the use of drugs or surgery.

CHRONIC EAR INFECTIONS AND CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Experts tell us that the number one reason children see chiropractors is for ear infections. Studies suggest that there is a dominant link between child birth and recurring ear infections, medically known as otitis media. As the child comes through the birthing canal, the vertebrae in their neck can become misaligned, interrupting normal nerve function, which can affect the eustachian tubes in their ears. This can create fluid buildup in the middle ear and cause infection.

More than 35% of all pediatric visits in the U.S. result from ear infections in children. The pediatrician usually prescribes antibiotics as the primary treatment for the infection, but as I can attest, most children who get ear infections once, will have them again. So ear infections become a vicious cycle and after 2-3 treatments the pediatrician suggests surgery by implanting tubes in the child’s ears to relieve the pressure. Sometimes it works, and other times the tubes fall out, or don’t remedy the problem to the point that children in their pre-teen years have recurrences.

Chiropractors over the last 50 years have known that by use of adjustments to the neck and spine, they can treat and eliminate a majority of ear infections if given the opportunity.

I’ve inserted excerpts from a study published several years ago by the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics in which it was found that there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. 332 children with chronic ear infections participated in the study. Each child, ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years, was given a series of chiropractic adjustments. The results show that close to 80% of the children did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. The six-month period included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks. Joan M. Fallon, D.C., the author of the study and the chiropractor who treated the children in the study, states that this study serves as a starting point from which chiropractors can begin to examine their role in the treatment of children with chronic ear infections. Even though this is only one study parents should consider chiropractic treatment if their child has a history of chronic ear infections. Under normal circumstances, chiropractic adjustments are painless and will not hurt your child. There are no invasive procedures and chiropractors do not use drugs that can have harmful side effects.

So even though the public’s perception of a Doctor of Chiropractic might be centered on “He’s the Back Doctor” this article sheds light on why we, in this specialized profession provide so much more.

As health care costs skyrocket, more and more people will find that Chiropractors can help solve a lot of health related problems at a fraction of the cost