Whiplash Chiropractors in Vancouver, Washington

Chiropractic care for whiplash

Whiplash is a cervical acceleration-deceleration injury: the head is thrown forward and snapped back faster than the neck muscles can resist, overstretching or tearing the cervical muscles, ligaments, and facet joint capsules. Symptoms usually develop in the 24 to 72 hours after the event and center on the neck: stiffness and reduced range of motion, cervicogenic headaches at the base of the skull, upper-back and shoulder tension, and in some cases pain or tingling that radiates into the arm from irritation of a cervical nerve root.

A chiropractic evaluation for whiplash centers on the neck. Orthopedic and neurological testing identifies which cervical segments are restricted, screens the cervical nerve roots, and determines whether imaging is warranted. Treatment combines cervical spinal manipulation to restore joint movement, soft-tissue therapy for the neck and upper back, and rehabilitative exercise for range of motion. Because whiplash usually follows a collision, the same Washington at-fault and PIP coverage applies, and most Vancouver chiropractors work with both liability and health insurance carriers.

Whiplash is often one of several injuries from a collision. For the full insurance and multi-injury picture, including how Washington at-fault claims work, see car accident chiropractic care in Vancouver.

• Cervical spinal manipulation to reduce restricted segment movement
• Soft-tissue therapy for the neck and upper-back muscles and ligaments
• Orthopedic and neurological screening of the cervical nerve roots
• Care for cervicogenic headaches that originate at the base of the skull
• Rehabilitative exercise to restore neck strength and range of motion

Finding whiplash care in Vancouver

Vancouver is the seat of Clark County, Washington, and the largest city in the southwest Washington portion of the Portland metro. Chiropractic clinics serving motor vehicle accident patients are concentrated along the Fourth Plain Boulevard corridor, NE 20th Avenue, and SE Mill Plain Boulevard.

Vancouver chiropractic offices evaluate the neck at the first appointment and can begin care without a referral. Patients should notify their own insurer promptly and document the collision. Whiplash is usually one of several injuries from a crash, and the insurance routing for a Washington collision is the same across those injuries.