WHIPLASH & TRAMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Whiplash & concussions can lead to chronic pain. Let it lead to:
A HEALING JOURNEY
I came to Gold Beach to heal. I grew up in the desert as a child, and always had a dream of living and retiring near the ocean. In 2020, I was involved in two very serious accidents in which my head got cracked open and caused a severe head injury. It immediately threw me into menopause, and I started experiencing traumatic brain injury symptoms. For the next year I could barely work one day a week and focused on learning absolutely everything I could about traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and whiplash, so that I could heal in order to continue to work as a chiropractor.
Slowly, I continued to heal while spending a lot of time in the woods, next to the river and with the ocean. Finally, late last year I felt well enough to open up Gold Beach Chiropractic! Thank you to those who welcomed me with such warm open arms. I am so happy to be here! I’m so grateful that I can still practice and am able to share these healing insights with you!
A CHIROPRACTIC WHIPLASH SPECIALIST
There are several different important things that need to be done immediately after a concussion or whiplash. Many times people are in shock, and they have no idea that they actually have a concussion or whiplash. It’s usually three months to six months later when people start to have issues with their neck & headaches, other parts of the body, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and so forth. It’s not something to take lightly. Even when you get into the most minor fender bender, is absolutely essential that you start to get chiropractic care, including craniosacral, and many other tools all that I offered in my sessions. The immediate care will be ongoing benefits received for your long-term health & wellbeing.
Chiropractic care can help to:
- Relieve pain and inflammation
- Improve range of motion
- Reduce muscle spasms
- Speed up recovery time
- Prevent long-term problems
GET THE CARE YOU NEED
During your first appointment at Gold Beach Chiropractic, Dr. Jen Wilhelm will ask you about your medical history and the accident or injury that caused your whiplash. Then, a focused physical examination of your neck and spine will be performed. This physical examination for whiplash may include:
- Checking your range of motion
- Palpating your neck and spine for tenderness or pain
- Testing your reflexes
- Checking your muscle strength
- We may also order imaging tests, such as an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan. These tests can help to rule out other possible causes of your pain, such as a fracture or a herniated disc.
Following your comprehensive whiplash evaluation and diagnosis, Dr. Jen Wilhelm will develop a personalized treatment plan with you. Treatment plans commonly include a combination of the following whiplash treatments:
- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (RICE)
- Homeopathy
- Frequency Specific Microcurrent
- Cranial Sacral
- Physical Therapy
- Massage Therapy
RECENT ACCIDENT – ACUTE
The first visit after a car accident, the treatment is extremely gentle, especially. We will focus on loosening up the muscles and gently treating the spine. This is essential. Often times when people go to the emergency room after a car accident, they are given drugs. This is OK, especially whenever there is severe pain and difficulty in sleeping occurring. But, it does not facilitate the healing process. The ligaments of the spine are very much like the plastic on a six pack of beer, they’re not meant to stretch very much. When you strain them to the extent that you do during a car accident, there’s a lot of internal ripping and tearing that happens that we don’t see. And often times, this leads to chronic instability of ligaments, and also chronic scar tissue and fibrosis of the areas surrounding the neck, shoulders and thoracic spine. Often times what I see is that people come back in a year or two or three and they start having other problems with different parts of their body because of their cervical sprain strain from the earlier car accident. It’s better to get proper acute care, and go beyond merely the absence of pain, to assure the complete restoration of tissue health and full range of motion.
HISTORY OF A CAR ACCIDENT – CHRONIC
If you’ve had a car accident at all in the last 10, 15, or 20 years, and now you’re having issues with your shoulders, your elbows, your wrists, and or even your lower back and legs… More than likely this is a long-term compensation mechanism that’s occurring from a chronic cervical sprain strain. The whole body is intricately, connected and compensates for any injury, especially in the neck or in the feet. In this case, we often times, use the Shockwave in the upper back in order to work with the deep, chronic, adhesions and fibrosis, and the cervical thoracic and upper back. It’s incredible often times people start to have resolution of issues they’re having and completely unrelated areas whenever we heal an old cervical sprain strain.
If you have whiplash or a concussion at all in the past, it is important to see a chiropractor as soon as possible. Early treatment can help to improve your chances of a full recovery & a powerful healing journey!