If you have ever seen an auto accident court case depicted on television, you have seen the telltale cervical collar that indicates a neck injury. Why do victims of car accident injuries always seem to be wearing these devices? The answer lies in the way the stresses placed on the neck during impact and the tissue damage that results -- a condition known as whiplash.

When one care collides with another the force transferred can be enormous, even if both vehicles are moving slowly at the time. You may be buckled up to protect yourself from going into the windshield, but your head will still jerk forward. Then it snaps back again with a sharp motion not unlike a whip cracking. The weight of the head is enough to pull, strain or tear the muscles and ligaments in the neck. It can even dislocate the cervical vertebrae and cause damage to the discs in your neck. You then experience neck pain, stiffness, headaches or other symptoms produced by nerve impingement in the area.

While we associate this painful condition with car accident injuries, many other situations can damage the neck in the same way. Football players who are constantly hitting the turf or each other in head-on collisions can certainly experience it. People who get punched or violently shaken in a fight can also injure their necks from the sudden, jarring head motion.

Words on Whiplash and Pain Management From Your Tulsa Chiropractor

If you have the symptoms of this debilitating injury and you need a Tulsa chiropractor, we can help you here at HealthSource of Tulsa. Our chiropractors, Drs. Drew and Scottie Lawrence, can adjust the cervical vertebrae back into their correct alignment, allowing damaged tissues the opportunity to heal as they should. We can also use spinal decompression to take the stress off of a herniated disc in the neck or back.

Have you ever required pain management or therapy following a neck injury? Tell us your story!