Whiplash is an injury to the neck that is typically caused by auto accidents, but other causes include sports related accidents and personal injuries such as being punched or shaken.  During whiplash the neck is “whipped” forward and backward past its normal range of motion and the internal tissues are damaged.  

Some common symptoms of whiplash include neck pain, back pain, shoulder and arm pain, headaches, difficulty concentrating and nausea. Whiplash injuries may be hard to see on regular x-rays because the injury occurs deep in the soft tissues of the neck. Some doctors characterize the injury as a neck strain or sprain. Symptoms and pain may take several days or weeks to show up, but the pain is excruciating.  An auto accident injury such as whiplash needs to be treated right away in order to prevent further damage and alleviate pain.

Chiropractic Treatments for Wilmington Patients

Chiropractic care is a medication-free option for whiplash treatment. Our Wilmington chiropractor at Chiropractic Central will treat your auto accident injury such as whiplash with chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy and massage therapy. By combining several types of therapies your neck receives the proper treatment it needs to heal. The chiropractic adjustment will align the cervical spine to restore alignment to the neck and back.  Physical therapy will help strengthen the muscles and ligaments that may have been damaged and massage therapy will relax the neck muscles and aid in allowing the tissues to heal.

Our chiropractor will assess your pain and tailor a treatment regimen to suit your individual needs. Dr. David Lude and his staff are dedicated to helping their patients become pain free and experience the benefits of overall body wellness. With the “whole body” approach Dr. Lude focuses on finding the underlying cause of the pain and treating the cause instead of just treating the symptoms.  By using the services available in his office our chiropractor is able to help his patients achieve wellness and become pain-free.

Have you ever suffered from whiplash?

Chiropractic Care Combined With Massage Therapy Equals Back Pain Relief and More

Massage therapy is one treatment that complements chiropractic care and adjustment; together they can help reduce and alleviate different types of muscular pain. This treatment is offered in our office at Wilmington’s Chiropractic Central. Our chiropractor believes in whole body wellness. Part of our approach to achieve wellness for each patient is therapeutic massage which is a non-evasive treatment that offers natural pain relief.

Our chiropractor works with patients who suffer from neck pain, back pain and headaches. He also assists them in getting long lasting pain relief through massage therapy. Massaging muscles helps to stimulate blood flow which assists in producing fresh oxygen in the blood to promote healing and flush toxins from the muscles. Wilmington massage therapy is a soothing treatment that will help you feel calm and relaxed.

Types of Massage Therapy

There are different types of massage techniques which can include Deep Tissue Therapy, Swedish and Hot Stone Massage.  These methods can be combined to customize the right treatment for your specific injury.  Deep tissue massage is aimed to work the deeper tissue structures of the muscles or the connective tissues.  This kind of massage is similar to Swedish massage, but done with more intense pressure.  Swedish massage is the most common type of massage.  It is a universal massage where the therapist will lubricate the area with oil and perform various strokes that warm up and work muscles tissues to help them relax.  Hot stone massage is a combination of traditional massage and hot stone therapy.  Our therapist will place hot stones in key places on the body and also hold other stones using them to massage certain areas of the body. The heat from the stones helps the muscles relax which allows deeper pressure if desired.

Therapeutic massage is one of the best complements to chiropractic care.  Muscles are attached to bones and joints so it is very important for them to be relaxed and stretched after a chiropractic adjustment which typically focuses on the skeletal system. Some key benefits of massage therapy combined with chiropractic care are helping prepare the body for more effective adjustments, relieving muscle pain and tension, helping prevent future injuries and pain as well as promoting overall relaxation to make the body more receptive to the adjustments.

Our chiropractor and his staff will recommend specialized treatment that targets the problems of each patient individually. What is your favorite type of massage therapy?

 Anyone that is living life with back pain knows how disruptive it can be. It impacts most every daily routine from bending over to tie shoes to working at a computer pain-free. Traditional medicine ranges from rest to medication to surgery. Rest is not always practical in today's fast-paced world where many have busy lifestyles and mutiple roles and responsibilities. Medication can be a cover up; that is, the pain comes back once the medication wears off. Surgery is invasive, risky, expensive and doesn't always work.

Chiropractor Treatment

Wilmington chiropractic care is a proven alternative to back surgery. Back surgery is invasive, and recovery can take weeks, months, or even years. What's more, there's no guarantee that intrusive surgery will relieve your pain because it doesn't always work. On the other hand, when visiting one of our chiropractors, most patients realize long lasting pain relief. Although correction can take many months, in many cases pain relief is seen in a few short weeks.

Numerous studies have shown the majority of patients suffering from back pain respond well to spinal decompression, combined with cold-laser therapy and/or spinal adjustments. Likewise, people with a herniated disc find relief from treatment from one of our Wilmington chiropractors.

A very important point to note is that treatment from a chiropractor is a conservative approach to pain in the back and disc problems. The goal is to not only eliminate pain, but restore better range of motion. Spinal manipulation and decompression can reduce disc bulging, minimize inflammation, and begin the process of soft tissue healing immediately to reduce or eliminate discomfort and pain.

More and more studies are supporting the effectiveness of chiropractic care as a cost effective way of treating back and neck pain. Further, an increased number of mainstream family physicians are referring patients to our chiropractor as a first choice step to treat patient back problems.

How has care from our chiropractor helped you with your pain?

 Driving in Inclement Weather in Wilmington

The best advice for driving in inclement weather is to not drive in it all, especially in hurricane-like conditions. Driving in bad weather increases the chance of an auto accident -- and a trip to obtain Wilmington chiropractic care from our chiropractor to deal with accident-related issues, like back pain or whiplash.

However, we understand that it may be impossible to avoid driving in bad weather with work, school, or child care commitments. Having a properly prepared car and following safe driving tips during inclement weather will help ensure that you arrive at your destination safely. That said, in the event that you are in a weather-related accident, be sure to see our chiropractor for chiropractic care as soon as possible.

Safe Driving Tips to Avoid Auto Accidents

If you are not comfortable driving in rainy and windy conditions, it is a good idea to practice in an empty parking lot. This will help you learn how your car reacts while driving in a torrential downpour or high winds. To avoid hydroplaning in older cars, it is recommended to pump your breaks to avoid skidding. However, newer cars are equipped with anti-lock breaks, so pumping your breaks is not necessary with these vehicles. Instead, you need to apply steady pressure during a skid for cars that have anti-lock breaks.

Be extra careful when driving over bridges and overpasses because they may be more slick than roads. Allow plenty of distance from the vehicle in front of you because it may take longer to stop on slick roads.

You should also prepare your vehicle for driving in inclement weather. Be sure that your tires have adequate tread. Your wiper blades should be in good working order. Having a bag of sand or gravel in your trunk adds weight to your car, making it less likely to slide. The gravel can also be used for traction in case you get stuck in mud.

What are some other safe driving tips during bad weather?