If you were in a car accident, and you are suffering the effects of a whiplash injury, then you have some degree of soft tissue injury. No other doctor is as well equipped to treat and manage whiplash injuries as a doctor of chiropractic. In Petaluma, this chiropractic office is the office that takes a special interest in whiplash injuries.
Chiropractic is more than just an adjustment to the spine. A doctor of chiropractic has a wide scope of practice that includes using healing modalities other than regular adjustments to help with the healing process. And before that, chiropractors are trained in differential diagnosis to make referrals when necessary. Chiropractors are trained to take and read x-rays.
When I say soft tissue, I mean the tissue that is not bone that surrounds the spine. This includes muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, and nerves. You can even have bruising in the loose fatty tissue that fills in the spaces. Whenever you have bruising, stretching, tearing, or compression of soft tissue, it is important to restore normal proper movement in areas of the body that are designed to move.
Your spine is designed to move a certain way. Your neck must be able to go into flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation without pain, and without restriction from spasm the muscles. Every chiropractor is trained to evaluate spinal movement, and provide certain ways to restore this movement. Many chiropractors have different approaches to this, though.
Along with restoring movement to injured areas, it is important to maintain stability to areas of the body that must have stability. This is why it's important to "work on your core." Because while your spine is designed to move through all of these ranges of motion, it is equally important to keep your spine steady. Your spine needs to be stabilized if you are to move through life using your limbs.
If you have a soft tissue injury to your neck or low back, you might lose some of that important stability. This is why you must be evaluated by a professional who knows the way the spine works, so this professional (chiropractor) can prescribe therapeutic exercises to help you maintain that stability.
Many times injuries can be managed in the chiropractic office. But sometimes injuries are more severe, and need medical intervention. Your chiropractor should be able to pass along a referral to other medical professionals to provide relief, advanced diagnostics, or more aggressive surgical procedures.
With moderate to severe injuries, your personal injury attorney is the other professional that is handling your case. Your personal injury attorney will work with your personal injury chiropractor to make sure that you receive the full benefits from your insurance policy, or the other drivers policy. Your attorney is there also to ensure that your medical care is paid for at the end of the case. In this office, we accept attorney's liens so you may not even have to pay out-of-pocket for your care.
