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Can Whiplash Lead to Sciatica? An Upper Cervical Perspective

By June 11, 2023July 12th, 2024No Comments

Are you finding it challenging to move without feeling a jolt of pain in your lower back? Are you experiencing a nagging discomfort that radiates from your lower spine to your leg? Have these symptoms started after a whiplash injury? If your answers are a resounding ‘yes’, then you might be dealing with sciatica resulting from a whiplash injury.

Whiplash injuries typically occur due to rapid back-and-forth motion of the neck, often seen in car accidents or sports injuries. It’s also a commonly reported problem among patients seeking lasting low back pain relief in Anchorage from an Upper Cervical Chiropractic office like Pairmore & Young: Synergy Chiropractic.

Notably, while it predominantly affects the neck and upper spine, whiplash can indeed trigger low back pain problems due to the interconnectedness of the vertebral bones.

Whiplash and Sciatica: The Connection
Whiplash injuries put your atlas and axis bones at risk for misalignments. That’s because traumatic injuries like whiplash compromises the connective tissues that hold your atlas and axis. The force causes the atlas to dislodge and the axis to twist and impact the rest of the bones.

To make things worse, the head will likely tilt on one side of the body, putting more pressure on the cervical spine and altering the alignment of the shoulders, hips, arms, and legs. Nearby structures like the brainstem and several muscles, joints, and nerves also suffer from the imbalance in your posture. This increases risks for long-term pain and delayed healing of the body after a whiplash-causing accident.

Furthermore, abnormal tension reaching the lower back can lead to misalignment of the lumbar vertebrae or pressure on the sciatic nerve. Hence, while indirect, there is a potential link between whiplash injuries and sciatica.

Role of Upper Cervical Care in Managing Sciatica

While traditional approaches for sciatica focus on the lower back, an Upper Cervical doctor aims to address the root cause of the problem. If your sciatica pain is indeed linked to a whiplash injury, then gentle neck bone adjustments might solve your problem. It can help you achieve long-term low back pain relief in Anchorage.

Upper Cervical doctors specialize in the alignment of the neck, particularly the atlas and axis vertebrae. They use specific diagnostic techniques to detect even the slightest misalignments in these regions. Once identified, they apply precise, gentle techniques to correct these misalignments, aiming to restore the body’s natural healing capability.

Correcting the original misalignment caused by the whiplash injury can mitigate the cascading effects down the spine, potentially relieving sciatica symptoms. This approach addresses the underlying issue rather than just managing the symptoms, providing a more holistic solution.

You Deserve A Transformative Source Of Low Back Pain Relief In Anchorage

While whiplash injury primarily affects the neck, its consequences can extend to the lower back, potentially leading to conditions like sciatica. If you suffer from sciatica following a whiplash injury, consider consulting an Upper Cervical doctor at our office.

This way, you can alleviate your sciatica symptoms and improve your posture. Remember, every individual is unique, and so is the approach. Therefore, discussing your symptoms, medical history, and expectations with your healthcare provider is crucial.

Speaking with an Upper Cervical Chiropractor will help you gauge how bad your postural imbalance is and how you should proceed with the adjustments. During your consultation, you must undergo a thorough assessment using standard chiropractic techniques and digital imaging scans.

Then, once we better understand what’s going on in your cervical spine, we can adjust and advise you on what you should do next. So, are you ready to take advantage of a holistic approach to healing your low back pain? Contact us today at Pairmore & Young: Synergy Chiropractic to book your initial appointment with one of our chiropractic doctors.

To schedule a consultation with Pairmore & Young: Synergy Chiropractic, call our Anchorage office at 907-677-6953. You can also click the button below.