Whiplash

Whiplash is a neck injury caused by a sudden, forceful back-and-forth movement of the head — most commonly from rear-end auto collisions. It strains the muscles, ligaments, and joints of the neck. Symptoms often do not show up for hours or even days afterward, which is why it is worth being looked at early rather than waiting to see how it settles.

Almost nobody with whiplash feels it at the scene. You get rear-ended at a light on Wells Branch Parkway, you check that everyone is okay, you trade information, and you drive home shaken but basically fine. It's the next morning that tells the real story. You go to back out of the driveway, turn your head, and it stops halfway. Your shoulders feel like they've been clenched all night. There's a headache sitting at the base of your skull that wasn't there yesterday. That delay is normal, and it's the single most common thing we hear from people who call us a few days after a collision, usually starting with some version of I thought I was fine.

The reason for the delay is in the tissue. Whiplash isn't a bruise you can look at. In the fraction of a second an impact takes, your head is thrown through a range your neck never plans for, and the muscles and ligaments holding those joints together get strained. Swelling builds over hours. Meanwhile your body starts protecting the sore area by tightening everything around it, and that guarding is often what you actually notice first, as stiffness rather than pain. It's also why the speed on the report and the damage to the bumper tell you so little. A modern bumper is built to resist damage, which can mean more of the force passes through to the people inside. We look at the person, not the car.

A visit for whiplash is mostly measuring and listening. We ask how the crash happened, which way your head was turned, what you haven't been able to do since, and how things have shifted over the days since. Then we look at how far your neck actually turns and bends, what's tender, and how your shoulders and upper back are moving along with it. If what we find is something better handled by a different kind of doctor, we'll say so directly rather than starting care and hoping. Where chiropractic care is a good fit, it usually starts gently and builds. Early on, the aim is calming irritated tissue. As things settle, the emphasis shifts toward getting movement back and toward exercises you do at home, because a neck that stays still gets stiff.

We also want to know what your days look like right now, because sleep, driving, and desk time all pull on a neck that's already sore, and small changes to those in the first couple of weeks tend to matter as much as anything that happens in our office. Chicoine Chiropractic sits at 3407 Wells Branch Pkwy, Suite 625, in Wells Branch, North Austin, with parking right at the door, and has been caring for families here since 1989. Dr. Shelly Hogan, D.C. and Dr. Nicole Edwards, D.C. are sisters, and they see patients from across North Austin, Wells Branch, and Pflugerville. Rosamaria at the front desk speaks fluent Spanish. You don't need a referral in Texas, so you can book online or call (512) 255-1777.