Honolulu Chiropractor

If you drive a big car and you’re in an accident if your car looks “uninjured,” it’s easy to assume that you are not hurt, either. After all, isn’t that why you’re driving a big vehicle? It’s for safety, right? Well, research has proved that occupants of vehicles, both large and compact, can be injured a lot more than might be predicted from a minor auto accident. In fact, as far as your body is concerned, there’s truly no such thing as a “minor fender bender.”

Let’s face it. There are going to be consequences when your body is compelled to stop suddenly and unexpectedly. An emergency room attendant may offer you a clean bill of health because you haven’t broken any bones, and you might be given a prescription for drugs to reduce the muscle spasms that you are undoubtedly experiencing due to the structural changes in your neck or lower back that you encountered from the impact. But, unless you’re actually treated for the bodily trauma you’ve sustained, your problem can go from bad to far worse. In fact, quite a few people encounter problems years after an auto accident because they didn’t get the help they needed in the first place.

Your Honolulu Chiropractor truly knows what your body goes through during a car accident. chiropractic techniques include treatment for soft tissue injuries and spinal bio-mechanics abnormalities. And

If you’ve experienced a minor auto accident, although your car may not require much repair, you probably do. Neck and back injuries are not only painful in the areas in which they take place, but they can also cause pain, tingling, and numbness in your arms and hands and result in headaches days, weeks, even months after an accident occurs.

You can get back on the road to feeling good again with drug-free, natural chiropractic care.  It will help to put the trauma of your accident where it belongs – behind you. Furthermore, because your chiropractor has experience working with insurance companies and lawyers, not only will you experience less physical stress, but less emotional stress, too!

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Introduction

When we arise in the morning with a stiff and painful neck, the propensity is to blame the condition on our pillow, bed, or sleep position during that night. We also attempt to figure out what is happening when we move our neck suddenly and feel a sharp pain that feels as if something has suddenly slipped out of position or is pinching a “nerve.” It is useful to understand that most neck problems are rarely caused by a single incident, but instead by the cumulative effects of unsuitable sitting posture, poor work and living habits, lack of beneficial exercise and flexibility, and other lifestyle-related factors. Obviously, some neck problems are due to traumatic events such as a whiplash accident, a fall, or a sports injury.

Anatomy

In order to understand neck pain, it is important to have knowledge of the anatomy of the spine. The spinal bones or vertebrae of the neck are made up of posterior joints, called facets, that connect vertebrae to one another and serve to direct the motion of the spine. The inter-vertebral discs join the bodies of the vertebrae and are composed of a form of tough cartilage that surrounds a soft material in the center, called the nucleus. The main function of the disc is as a shock absorber and spacer between the vertebrae. In a canal found between the body and the facets of the vertebrae is the spinal cord. Spinal nerves leave the spine between the vertebrae and provide energy to muscles and organs of the body. Transversely, they carry sensory impulses, including pain information, from the body to the brain.  The nerves that go out from the neck are in charge of the entire upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and hand, as well as structures of the head and neck. The natural forward curve of the neck balances the weight of the head and lessens stress on neck vertebrae. For more information please feel free to visit your Honolulu Chiropractor.

Risk Factors: Neck Pain and Computer Use

Computer use has risen significantly over the years, at home and in the workplace. Nowadays, a substantial amount of people spend eight to ten hours a day, or more, bent over a keyboard and staring at a monitor. When we sit with our head in a forward bent position-the posture that most desk workers take on-the ligaments that hold the facets together and the muscles in the neck are put under enormous strain. In addition, the normal forward curve of the neck becomes reversed causing more stress upon all the surrounding tissues of the neck. Awkward posture and repetitive stress can produce spinal problems including disc herniation and subluxations, which are the principal causes of spinal nerve irritation. In addition to general pain, spinal nerve pain in the neck can generate symptoms like headaches, eye problems, giddiness, arm and hand pain (and paraesthesia), as well as shoulder pain.

Whiplash and chiropractic Care

Unfortunately, many people are involved in car accidents. Rear-end collisions are the most common. During such a collision, the head of the passenger in the front car is forcibly jerked back, and then forward, causing damage to the structure of both the front and back of the neck. This sort of trauma is often called a whiplash. Even at low speeds, the amount of force produced by such an accident is very powerful and can cause injury to the ligaments, muscles, facet joints, discs, and spinal nerves. Along with neck pain and immobility, symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vertigo, arm and shoulder pain, tingling in the hands and fingers and weakness of the arm and hand are coincidental with whiplash injury. It is vital to get immediate evaluation and x-rays to rule out the possibility of fracture. However in many cases, the injuries are principally to the soft tissues and joints. Proper management is essential in recovery from the pain and symptoms of whiplash, and also to prevent future disability. Your Honolulu Chiropractor is has years of experience in treating whiplash injury, and is more than capable of managing the case from beginning to end.

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