By far the most common injury that our patients suffer when hit by another car from behind is neck pain.  While in general there are many neck pain causes, neck pain as a result of a car accident is usually caused by muscles and ligaments being stretched and torn from the force of the accident.

When you are in your vehicle and hit from behind, the first thing that happens is your neck straightens and your head is whipped backward.  As your head is whipped backward (hence the term WHIPLASH), the muscles in the front of your neck are stretched to their limit.  Sometimes the stretch placed on these muscles pulls and tears some of the muscle fibers causing a painful, strained feeling.  Keep in mind that many of the muscles in your neck attach into your shoulders making the combination of neck and shoulder pain common after car accidents.

After your head is whipped backward, the muscles that were stretched in the front of your neck experience a forceful, reflexive contraction that whips your head forward and stretches or tears the muscles in the back of your neck which also causes a painful strained feeling in the neck.

Your neck is more likely to be injured in a car accident than other parts of your back because it has the smallest muscles, it has the least protection from the vehicle and it has to balance and control the weight of your head.  All these factors lead to easy injury on the neck in a rear end type motor vehicle accident.  (Click here to read more about Whiplash on my blog)

Chiropractic care is the ideal for treatment of this type of injury.  Chiropractic care reduces your pain, improves your range of motion and helps you heal faster and stronger.

If you have been in an auto accident, Contact Us To Make an appointment for a consultation and examination. 

You can call us for an appointment directly at (619) 280-0554.