Are You Suffering from Whiplash?

If you or someone you love has been in an auto accident, there is a good chance you have heard the term “whiplash”.  After an accident, whiplash is a very common injury to suffer. Whiplash symptom’s can lie dormant for hours, days, and even weeks. It’s best to know the signs of whiplash so that you can get back to normal.

Whiplash is caused by the acceleration of your vehicle to the sudden deceleration of a rear-ended crash. This causes your body to lurch forward rapidly and back causing strain on your neck, back, hips, and even shoulders. If you are suffering from the following symptoms, now is the time to talk to your family doctor or chiropractor.

Some symptoms of whiplash include:

• Neck Pain
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty swallowing
• Irritability
• Dizziness
• Pain between the shoulder blades
• Pain in the arms, legs, feet, and hands
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Low back pain or stiffness
• Vertigo
• Shoulder pain
• Nausea
• Ringing in ears
• Numbness and Tingling
• Pain in the jaw or face

Whiplash can cause individuals different problems. But you may not experience symptoms until days or even months after an accident occurs. If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed above, we may be able to help you. If you are suffering from whiplash, give us a call today. We can help evaluate your current situation and plan steps to bring your range of motion back.

Stop Texting Your Way to Neck Pain

Are you looking down at your smartphone? Is your head tilted forward as you read this? Chances are, yes.This forward positioning of your head is bad for your neck and spine. The term is called "Text Neck," and doctors consider it a global epidemic. 

Dr. Dean Fishman is a chiropractor in Florida who coined the phrase "Text Neck" to explain the repeated stress injury to the body caused by excessive texting and overuse of all handheld devices. Smartphone users spend countless hours per day in a forward head posture reading emails, sending text messages and checking social media. Are you guilty? Many of us are, but teens may be the worst. Parents need to start showing more guidance.

The human head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds. For every inch your head is tilted forward, the pressure on your spine doubles. If you would tilt your head forward at 15 degrees, the weighted pressure feels like 27 pounds, at 30 degreed it’s 40 pounds, at 45 degrees it’s 49 pounds, and at 60 degrees it’s 60 pounds. 

(Courtesy of Dr. Ken Hansraj M.D.)

All the extra pressure puts a strain on your spine and can pull it out of alignment. Dr. Tom DiAngelis, president of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Private Practice Section, compares it to bending your finger back all the way and holding it there for an hour.

Poor posture has been linked to a number of medical problems, including headaches, depression, constipation and heart disease. It also can reduce lung capacity by as much as 30 percent.

Smartphones are a wonderful asset to daily life. Just be mindful and aware of how you use them. Now get up, stretch and go for a walk. When you're done, visit our website at McKoloskyChiropractic.com.