You're driving to work and stop for a red light. You're minding your own business and - bam! - your car rocks forward and backward, slammed in the rear by another car driven by some guy yakking on his cell phone. Or you're walking down the hall in an office while minding your own business and you slip on a pencil and the next thing you know, you're on the floor. Again... your head probably rocked forward and backward causing what we call a whiplash. Many people would only associate a whiplash with a car accident but this injury can and does occur in many other circumstances.

Later during the day of the accident or possibly within several days, you begin to experience neck pain. You might also have shoulder pain, headache, nausea, dizziness and pain or numbness traveling down one or both arms. You may have whiplash - a traumatic injury to the muscles, ligaments and spinal joints of your neck and upper back. If you're fortunate, you may feel better in a few days but often times the injuries may be moderate or severe and various complaints will linger and may even worsen. Remember... just because you don't feel any pain doesn't mean that you don't have damage to your spine. Pain is often the last symptom to occur so it's very important to consult your chiropractor if you are involved in an accident that may have caused a whiplash... even if the pain has subsided.

Your chiropractor is an excellent choice for examination and evaluation of injuries due to whiplash. He or she will be able to determine the nature and extent of the damage to muscle, ligament and bone. Taking an X-ray series is a very important part of the evaluation of whiplash, as even seemingly modest forces can result in fracture of one or more vertebras in your neck. Evaluation of nerve function, including both spinal nerves and cranial nerves, is critically important. Pain and/or numbness radiating into one or both arms suggests injury to a cervical nerve root and needs to be thoroughly assessed. If no fractures have been identified with X-rays, chiropractic treatment can begin immediately. Over time, chiropractic treatment helps reduce inflammation of injured muscles and ligaments as well as helps to restore normal ranges of motion to your neck and upper back.

With this natural form of healing you begin to make incremental, steady progress, recovering the ability to participate in all your daily activities with reduced levels of pain and discomfort. By choosing chiropractic treatment you are allowing your body to return to normal and recover by utilizing its own restorative powers. Our bodies were made to heal themselves and chiropractic care aids our bodies to do just that.

If you would like more information about whiplash or chiropractic care, please give us a call at (208) 762-1414. You can also find us at CDAHealth.com or on Facebook and Twitter by searching "Spoelstra Family Chiropractic." Watch for us in our new office at 370 East Kathleen Ave. Suite 600 in Coeur d'Alene beginning Sept. 7!