Most people think of whiplash as an auto accident injury, but it can occur in any mishap where the head and the rest of the body are suddenly whipped in different directions, even at speeds as low as 5mph. This sudden, unnatural motion strains the neck’s complex network of muscles, vertebrae, ligaments and tendons. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, the resulting neck pain, back pain, headaches, difficulty concentrating, sleeping, and seeing can drag on for years. While car accidents cause more than 3 million cases of whiplash each year, sports injury and personal injury situations are also frequent culprits. Our Encinitas and Cardiff by the Sea chiropractors, Dr. David Melendez and Dr. Lorraine Melendez have helped hundreds of patients overcome this painful neck injury.

Chiropractic Help for Neck Injuries, Restores Quality of Life

We urge everyone who has suffered a sudden neck strain to seek chiropractic care quickly after the injury occurs. Why? Because even when an accident victim goes to the hospital, emergency room doctors are time-limited as to what they can offer patients suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. Furthermore, when this injury occurs at low speeds, symptoms may not manifest themselves for the first few hours or even weeks afterward. In the meantime, the soft tissue damage can wreak havoc on the alignment of the neck vertebrae, causing neck pain, bulged disc problems, back pain and a host of other problems.

As chiropractors, we understand this lag time between the neck injury and the symptoms, and can diagnose problems before they worsen. Then we offer several treatments to help our neck injury patients recover and go on to lead healthy, pain-free lives. Usually, a combined regimen of gentle cervical spine adjustments, spinal decompression and massage can stimulate healing and help to relieve the terrible pain associated with this neck injury. When we catch the injury before it gets out of hand, we can help patients avoid years of pain.

Have you ever suffered a neck injury like this? What kind of treatment helped you the most?

Cardiff By The Sea & Encinitas Chiropractor Gives Helpful Immunity Advice in New Video Series With Dr. David Melendez

Carpal tunnel syndrome can affect people who type frequently or use their hands to perform any sort of repetitive motion. At Gold Coast Chiropractic in Cardiff by the Sea, our Encinitas chiropractor manipulates the spinal column as well as the wrist and elbow to treat the condition. Massage therapy can also relieve the pain and symptoms associated with the syndrome.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel?

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually occurs as a result of personal injury. When a patient has the condition, the median nerve, which runs through the forearm and wrist to the hand, is pinched. The pinched nerve causes feelings of pain from the wrist to the hand or from the wrist up the length of the arm. A person with the condition also feels numbness in her hand and wrist and tingling sensations. As the condition progresses, it may be difficult to hold onto objects or otherwise use the hands.

Types of personal injury that can lead to the condition include breaking the wrist or constantly flexing the wrist. A fractured wrist can put pressure on the nerve, leading to the pain and other symptoms. A person who performs a repetitive movement, such as typing, lifting objects on and off an assembly line or kneading bread dough constantly, is at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, as the constant flexing of the joint puts pressure on the nerve.

Chiropractic Care in Cardiff by the Sea

At our Cardiff by the Sea clinic, our chiropractors offer spinal adjustments that reduce the pressure put on the median nerve. Our chiropractors manipulate the spinal area as well as the wrist and elbow to alleviate a pinched median nerve. Adjustments help a patient gain back range of motion and function in her hands and wrists. Our clinic also offers massage therapy to restore the muscles in the arm and wrist and speed recovery time.

Have you tried chiropractic care to treat carpal tunnel syndrome?