When you’re in a car accident, you may not notice any signs of injury immediately. But even if you didn’t have pain or bleeding, you could still have physical damage. That’s because it can take time for some car accident injuries to appear, especially whiplash.

Unfortunately, when you wait to treat whiplash or wait for it to go away on its own, you can end up with chronic pain, additional symptoms, and longer recovery times.

Dr. Marie Cayo understands the impact a collision has on your body. At Spinal Health Care of Orlando, she provides expert chiropractic care to treat auto injuries like whiplash and can help relieve your symptoms while reducing your risk of chronic issues.

Recognizing whiplash

Your neck is a complex structure that contains several types of tissue, including spinal discs, muscles, ligaments, and nerves. When you’re in a collision, the impact causes a forceful snapping movement to your neck that can damage any of these structures, resulting in a whiplash injury.

Whiplash injuries often develop within days or weeks of an accident, and their symptoms include pain, stiffness, and less range of motion in the neck. Additional signs of whiplash include:

• Neck pain that worsens with movement
• Pain or tenderness in your upper back, shoulders, or arms
• Numbness or tingling in your arms
• Dizziness, blurred vision, or fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating or memory problems
• Disrupted sleep
• Irritability or depression

Whiplash most commonly occurs in car accidents, especially if you’ve been rear-ended, but you can also sustain these types of injuries by falling, through athletic activities, or because of an sudden turn or twist.

The long-term effects of whiplash

Fortunately, most whiplash injuries respond positively to treatment, especially chiropractic care. Dr. Cayo takes a personalized approach to diagnosing and treating whiplash injuries at our clinics in Orlando and Kissimmee. Her comprehensive strategy includes spinal adjustments as well as a combination of laser, ultrasound, physio taping and physical therapies. With effective treatment, it’s common to find relief from whiplash symptoms within three months of your injuries, but your recovery time depends on the extent of your physical damage.

Without treatment, though, whiplash injuries can worsen and become chronic, lasting years or even the rest of your life. In addition to chronic pain, you can continue experiencing symptoms that include:

• Dizziness
• Blurry vision
• Ringing in your ears
• Severe, chronic headaches
• Jaw pain
• Weakness, numbness, or sensory problems in your legs, arms, or hands
• Memory problems
• Difficulty sleeping
• Changes in your personality

To reduce your chances of long-term problems from whiplash, Dr. Cayo recommends seeking medical attention as soon as possible if you’ve been in a car accident or sustained physical trauma.

For more information on whiplash injuries and treatment, call us at Spinal Health Care of Orlando or schedule an appointment online today.