Southland Chiropractic Clinic

07/29/2025

Southland Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter

How Your Chiropractor Can Help with Headaches After a Car Accident

Even minor car accidents can cause aches and pains that last for weeks. Headaches are particularly common following an accident and may range from mild to severe. If you're struggling with headaches, chiropractic treatment offers effective, natural relief for your pain.

Why Do I Have a Headache?

Post-accident headaches can be caused by strained muscles in your neck, a concussion, or whiplash. Whiplash happens when your neck rapidly jerks back and forth or side to side during a crash. The sudden force can strain your muscles, irritate your nerves, damage ligaments that connect the vertebrae in your spine together, and trigger subluxations. Subluxations occur when the vertebrae become misaligned.

Symptoms of whiplash include:

Headaches
Stiff Neck
Neck, Shoulder, and Upper Back Pain
Dizziness
Ringing in the Ears
Trouble Moving Your Neck Normally
Tingling or Numbness
Fatigue
Blurry Vision
Difficulty Sleeping or Concentrating
Irritability

Your headaches may be worsened by stress or poor posture. Have you had more frequent migraines since your car accident? Injuries to your spine and body's soft tissues can trigger migraines.

Reducing Headache Pain through Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors treat issues that affect the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles, joints, and soft tissues) through the use of non-invasive and drug-free treatments. Many of these treatments are effective for headaches and whiplash.

Chiropractic care offers these benefits:

Less Pressure. Subluxations in the neck irritate nerves and tissues, causing pain and headaches. Chiropractors restore normal alignment with spinal manipulation. Spinal adjustments involve quick, precise movements that move vertebrae back into their normal position. In addition to relieving pressure, adjustments promote healing.
Reduced Muscle Tension. Tight muscles pull on the spine and press on nerves, causing pain and headaches. Chiropractors use massage, soft tissue therapy, and trigger point therapy to reduce muscle tension, spasms, and knots. Massage also works to improve circulation throughout the body, including to the head and neck.
Natural Relief of Inflammation. Inflammation in your neck and back may be a contributing factor to post-accident headaches. Although inflammation is the body's natural response to an injury, chronic inflammation may irritate the nerves, cause pain, or lead to stiffness. Spinal manipulation, massage, hot and cold therapy, ultrasound therapy, and other therapies relieve inflammation and pain naturally, allowing healing to occur.
Improved Mobility. Attempting to turn or move your stiff neck may only worsen your headache. Spinal manipulation reduces muscle tension and improves spinal alignment, making it easier to move your neck without pain.
Scar Tissue Prevention. Scar tissue increases stiffness, limits neck mobility, and may be a factor in your headaches. Massage, soft tissue mobilization and trigger point therapy break apart scar tissue, easing your pain.
Better Posture. Stiffness and pain can lead to posture changes after a car accident. Unfortunately, poor posture may strain muscles and tissues, worsening pain. Chiropractic care improves posture by realigning your spine and reducing muscle tension.
A Natural Option. Pain medication eases headache pain, but the results are short-lived. If the source of your pain isn't identified and corrected, symptoms will return a few hours after the pain medication wears off. Chiropractic care offers long-lasting relief of post-accident headaches by targeting the source of your pain.

A case report published in the Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic in 2020 examined the benefits of chiropractic treatment for post-accident headaches. The case report discussed the results of treatment for a 15-year-old boy suffering from headaches and dizziness after a car accident. The boy received spinal manipulation and soft-tissue therapy for eight weeks and noticed an improvement in his symptoms after just four weeks of treatment.

Struggling with headaches after a car accident? Ease your pain with chiropractic care! Contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic: The Impact of Chiropractic Management on a 15-Year-Old Male Diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome and Whiplash: A Case Report, 7/27/2020

https://journal.parker.edu/article/78084-the-impact-of-chiropractic-management-on-a-15-year-old-male-diagnosed-with-post-concussion-syndrome-and-whiplash-a-case-report

Mayo Clinic: Whiplash, 2/17/2024

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/symptoms-causes/syc-20378921

American Chiropractic Association: Headaches

https://www.acatoday.org/patients/headaches-and-chiropractic/

NCBI: National Library of Medicine: Cervical Sprain, 8/14/2023

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541016/

07/01/2025

Southland Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter

Struggling with Chronic Fatigue? Chiropractic Care Can Help

If you're constantly exhausted no matter how much you sleep, you may have chronic fatigue syndrome. Although researchers haven't found a cure for the condition yet, your chiropractor offers treatments that may help you manage your symptoms and boost your energy level.

What Is Chronic Fatigue?

Severe fatigue that lasts six months or longer and doesn't improve with rest is called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In addition to fatigue, symptoms of ME/CFS include:

Trouble Concentrating
Memory Issues
Sleep That Doesn't Leave You Feeling Rested
Headaches
Muscle and Joint Pain
Sore Throat
Tender Lymph Nodes

Symptoms can worsen after physical activity or tasks that require concentration. You may also notice that you feel worse when you sit or stand. Sitting or standing can trigger dizziness, lightheadness, or even fainting.

Although doctors don't know why people get ME/CFS, MedlinePlus notes that possible causes include genetics, infections, immune system issues, and stress (mental or physical).

Chiropractic care can help you manage your symptoms and feel less tired. Benefits of chiropractic care include:

Pain Relief

Nerves exit your spinal cord through openings between the small bones in your back and neck called vertebrae. Vertebrae can become misaligned due to falls, poor posture, and stress. Chiropractors call these misalignments "subluxations." Subluxations press on nerves and tissues, causing pain. Muscles and tissues can also become uncomfortably tight due to misaligned vertebrae.

Chiropractors correct subluxations by adjusting the vertebrae in your back and neck with spinal manipulation therapy. During this therapy, an activator or hands-on movements restore the normal alignment of your spine. Massage therapy, soft tissue mobilization, and trigger point therapy also help relax tight, painful muscles and tissues.

Reduced Pressure on the Brain

A research study published in Frontiers in Neurology in 2020 noted that people with ME/CFS may be more likely to have craniocervical obstructions, in addition to elevated pressure inside the skull. A craniocervical obstruction happens when the top two vertebrae in the neck move more than normal.

Craniocervical obstructions could increase pressure on the brainstem, decrease the flow of blood and cerebrospinal fluid, and make it harder for waste products to leave the brain, according to the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. Adjusting the vertebrae in the neck with spinal manipulation may ease pressure on the brainstem and improve fluid flow, which might have a positive effect on ME/CFS symptoms.

Stronger Immune System

Your nerves play an important role in your immune system. Subluxations interfere with the signals that travel through the nerves and could affect the way your immune system works. Improving immune system functioning can be as simple as correcting subluxations with chiropractic treatment. As your immune system bcomes stronger, you may feel less tired and more energetic.

Less Stress

Stress is an unfortunate consequence of chronic fatigue. When nothing you try improves your symptoms, it's only natural to feel frustrated, anxious, and stressed. Unfortunately, stress and anxiety can interfere with sleep and cause fatigue. Chiropractic treatments help you relax by reducing muscle tension and flooding your body with hormones that help you feel calm.

Better Nutrition

Have you stopped making nutritious meals because you're so exhausted? You're not alone. Many people with ME/CFS struggle with meal preparation and nutrition. Good nutrition is particularly important if you have chronic fatigue. The foods you eat fuel your body, give you energy, and help your immune system function normally.

Your chiropractor can offer suggestions that will help you improve your nutrition. In a case report published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 2016, a 34-year-old woman saw improvements in chronic fatigue after following her chiropractor's nutritional recommendations. The woman lost 15 pounds and had more energy three months after making changes to her diet and lifestyle and taking supplements.

More Restful Sleep

Chiropractic care could improve the quality and duration of sleep. When your muscles no longer hurt and you feel calm and relaxed, it's much easier to get restful, restorative sleep.

Tired of living with chronic fatigue? Chiropractic treatments could improve your symptoms. Contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

Frontiers in Neurology: Signs of Intracranial Hypertension, Hypermobility, and Craniocervical Obstructions in Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 8/27/2020

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.00828/full

National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association: How Do You Fight Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?, 06/01/2021

https://nucca.org/how-do-you-fight-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

Journal of Chiropractic Medicine: Chiropractic Management of a Patient With Chronic Fatigue: A Case Report, 10/18/2016

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5106444/

MedlinePlus: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 5/1/2024

https://medlineplus.gov/myalgicencephalomyelitischronicfatiguesyndrome.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: ME/CFS Basics

https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/about/index.html

06/23/2025

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06/10/2025

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06/09/2025

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05/30/2025

05/30/2025

Southland Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter

Can Chiropractic Care Help Vertigo and Dizziness?

Feeling frustrated by vertigo and dizziness? Chiropractic care may offer the help you need to keep these unpleasant sensations under control.

What Causes Vertigo and Dizziness?

Dizziness is the term used to describe feeling lightheaded or unsteady. Vertigo is a type of dizziness that makes it seem as if the room is spinning. Severe vertigo can lead to headaches, nausea, and vomiting and make it difficult to keep your balance.

Dizziness and vertigo are common complaints. About 20% of Americans suffer from these symptoms at least occasionally, according to a cohort study published in Laryngoscope Investigative Ophthalmology in 2023

Causes of vertigo and dizziness include:

Cervical Spine Issues. Dizziness and vertigo may happen if the vertebrae in your cervical spine (neck) are misaligned. Misalignments, or subluxations, can press on nerves, causing negative symptoms. Subluxations may be caused by falls, repetitive stress, strain, whiplash, arthritis, and poor posture.
Inner Ear Disorders. Several inner ear conditions can disrupt balance and cause dizziness and vertigo, including vestibular neuritis, Meniere's disease, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
Neurological Issues. You may be more likely to experience vertigo and dizziness if you have a neurological condition, like migraines, multiple sclerosis, or stroke. Did vertigo and dizziness start after a concussion? Your symptoms may be due to trauma to the brain.
Other Causes. Dizziness and vertigo may also be caused by stress, low blood pressure, medication side effects, ear infections, dehydration, or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

How Your Chiropractor Treats Vertigo and Dizziness

Depending on the cause of your symptoms, your treatment plan may include:

Spinal Manipulation. Commonly called an "adjustment," spinal manipulation realigns the vertebrae in your neck and back. Your chiropractor uses hands-on pressure or a small instrument to move the vertebrae back into alignment. Once your spine is properly aligned, pressure on nerves decreases, easing symptoms.
Soft Tissue Treatments. Although your spine will be realigned after an adjustment, muscles and soft tissues may remain tight. Massage, myofascial release, soft tissue mobilization, and other treatments relax tight muscles and ease pain. Both spinal manipulation and soft tissue treatments reduce inflammation and improve blood flow. Increasing blood flow to the ears and brain may improve balance and prevent dizziness and vertigo in the future.
Epley Maneuver. Chiropractors use the Epley maneuver to treat vertigo and dizziness caused by BBPV. BBPV happens when calcium crystals in the ear needed for balance move out of place. The Epley maneuver involves a specific series of head and body movements that restore the crystals to their normal position.
Exercise and Advice. Your chiropractor may show you a few exercises that improve balance and strengthen the muscles in your neck. When your muscles are strong, it's easier to maintain good posture and avoid subluxations.

Is Chiropractic Treatment Effective for Vertigo and Dizziness?

Several research studies and case reports have demonstrated the benefits of chiropractic care for vertigo and dizziness. In a case report published in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research in 2022, researchers discussed the effects of chiropractic treatments on a 49-year-old woman suffering from neck pain and dizziness after falling off a harness. Adjustments improved dizziness, pain symptoms, and range of movement in the woman's neck.

An analysis of National Health Survey results published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine in 2015 showed that patients suffering from dizziness found chiropractic care to be helpful. According to the analysis, patients who saw a chiropractor were very likely to report that the treatments helped.

Chiropractic care offers an effective, natural solution to treating vertigo and dizziness. If you're struggling with these symptoms, contact our office to schedule an appointment with the chiropractor.

Sources:

Wiley: Laryngoscope Investigative Ophthalmology: Vertigo and Its Burden of Disease - Results from a Population-Based Cohort Study, 10/23/2023

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lio2.1169

American Medical Association: What Doctors Wish Patients Knew About Vertigo, 3/15/2024

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-vertigo #

Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research: Resolution of Cervicogenic Dizziness and Upper Cervical Pain in a 49-Year-Old Female Receiving Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic Care: A Case Report, 6/6/2022

https://vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/2022/03/12/1822-resolution-of-cervicogenic-dizziness-and-upper-cervical-pain-in-a-49-year-old-female-receiving-atlas-orthogonal-chiropractic-care-a-case-report/

Sage Journals: Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine: The Role of Chiropractic Care in the Treatment of Dizziness or Balance Disorders: Analysis of National Health Interview Survey Data, 9/11/2015

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2156587215604974

Journal of Chiropractic Medicine: Chiropractic Spinal Manipulative Treatment of Cervicogenic Dizziness Using Gonstead Method: A Case Study, 9/10/2011

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3259942/

05/28/2025

Just as a reminder.

05/26/2025

Southland Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter

When Should You See a Chiropractor?

Whether you have an aching back, migraines, muscle spasms, or another painful condition, chiropractic care offers an effective natural solution. Not sure if your symptoms warrant a visit to the chiropractic office? Pick up the phone if you experience any of these complaints or concerns:

Backaches

Low back pain affects 619 million people throughout the world, according to the World Health Organization. If you're one of them, you may be feeling a little frustrated at your inability to find relief for your pain. Although muscle relaxants and over-the-counter and prescription medication eases pain, the results are short-lived. Once the medication wears off, pain can return.

Chiropractic treatment relieves pain and often keeps it from returning. Spinal manipulation, also known as an "adjustment," is one of the treatments your chiropractor uses to relieve your back pain. Quick, focused pressure applied during this treatment realigns the vertebrae in your spine, reducing pain and stiffness.

Patients with acute low back pain saw modest improvements in pain and function after spinal manipulation, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2017.

Neck Pain

Neck pain often accompanies back pain and can happen if the vertebrae in your neck are misaligned or muscles and other tissues are uncomfortably tight. Common causes of neck pain include:

Poor Posture
Sleeping in an Awkward Position
Tilting Your Head to View Screens and Digital Devices
Neck Injuries, Including Whiplash
Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis
Herniated Discs
Compressed Nerves
Stress

In addition to spinal manipulation therapy, your chiropractor may use soft tissue therapies, like massage, to relieve tightness and muscle spasms.

Headaches and Migraines

Do your headaches and migraines keep you at home when you'd rather be enjoying life? Chiropractic treatments could relieve your pain and reduce the frequency and severity of your headaches.

Global Advantages in Health & Medicine noted the benefits of chiropractic care for migraines in n a case series published in 2019. Spinal manipulation and soft tissue techniques helped one patient reduce her migraines from three to four times a week to once per month.

Another patient mentioned during the case series had migraines almost every day. Although Botox decreased the frequency of her headaches, neck pain was a constant problem. Chiropractors discovered that trigger points (knots in the muscles) caused the pain and used soft tissue release, spinal mobilization and spinal manipulation to ease the patient's pain. After chiropractic treatment, the intensity of her headaches decreased by 50%.

Sports Injuries and Performance Issues

Chiropractic treatment improves blood flow and decreases inflammation after an injury, which can speed healing time. Treatments also break up scar tissue that can lead to stiff joints.

Visits to the chiropractor could help you improve your performance by:

Improving Flexibility and Range of Motion
Enhancing Balance and Posture by Keeping Your Spine Properly Aligned
Increasing Muscle Strength by Eliminating Misalignments or Muscle Tension That Could Cause Muscle Imbalances
Shortening the Recovery Period After Exertion

Numbness and Tingling

Do you experience numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or legs? These symptoms can occur if a misaligned vertebra, a tight muscle, or a bulging disc presses on your nerves. When your spine is correctly aligned, pressure on nerves decreases. If your pain is caused by herniated disc, your chiropractor may recommend flexion-distraction therapy.

Poor Balance/Frequent Falls

A misaligned spine and tight joints, ligaments, and tendons can make it harder for you to keep your balance. Chiropractic care corrects these issues and can even help you reduce your risk for falling as you age.

Stress

Have you noticed that your neck and shoulders hurt and feel tight when you feel stressed? Unfortunately, your muscles may not relax as soon as your stress decreases. Over time, those tight muscles can pull your vertebrae out of alignment. Chiropractic care relieves your pain with massage, ultrasound therapy, spinal manipulation, and other therapies. Treatments also release endorphins and serotonin, two hormones that reduce pain.

Ready to find out how chiropractic care could help you? Contact our office to schedule your appointment with the chiropractor.

Sources:

World Health Organization: Low Back Pain, 6/9/2023

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/low-back-pain

Journal of the American Medical Association: Association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy With Clinical Benefit and Harm for Acute Low Back Pain Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, 4/11/2017

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2616395

NCBI: Global Advantages in Health & Medicine: Integrating Chiropractic Care Into the Treatment of Migraine Headaches in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Case Series, 3/28/2019

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6440032/

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies: The Role of Chiropractic Care in Older Adults, 2/21/12

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3306193/

05/26/2025

Southland Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter

How Chiropractic Care Can Help with Work-Related Injuries

What happens at work doesn't always stay at work. When you're struggling with lingering pain and stiffness from a trip-and-fall, back injury, or a strained neck, your injury may begin to take over your life. Chiropractic care offers the perfect way to regain control. Chiropractors provide treatments that promote healing, improve range of motion, decrease pain, and reduce inflammation, swelling, and stiffness.

Is Chiropractic Care Right for You?

Whether your injury was recent or you've been struggling with pain and stiffness for weeks, chiropractic care offers the ideal solution to work-related injuries. Chiropractic care focuses on the musculoskeletal (muscles and bones) and nervous systems. As many workplace injuries affect these parts of the body, chiropractic care offers an effective natural solution.

Treatments target the source of your pain rather than concentrating solely on your symptoms. If you ignore the source of your pain, your symptoms might flare up again in the future, or you may face long-term complications.

If you're tired of being in pain and are eager to get back to work, chiropractic care offers many benefits, including:

Safer Pain Relief. Strong prescription pain medications effectively control pain, but may lead to addiction. Chiropractic treatments activate your body's natural pain relief system to control pain without drugs. During treatments, production of serotonin and endorphins, hormones that ease pain, increases. Chiropractic care can reduce opioid use after a spinal injury, according to a research study published in Pain Medicine in 2020. Researchers noted that patients who saw a primary care doctor and a chiropractor were half as likely to fill prescriptions for opioids compared to patients who only received primary care.
Less Pain. Pain can occur if a subluxation or a tight muscle presses on a nerve as it exits your spinal column. Subluxations happen when the vertebrae in your spine become misaligned. Adjusting the vertebrae with spinal manipulation therapy eases pressure on the nerve, ending pain. Your chiropractor may also use massage to relax tight muscles and tissues.
Quicker Healing. Injuries that affect the alignment of your spine or cause stiff muscles may take longer to heal. Chiropractic treatments correct these issues, improving healing. Adjustments, massage therapy, ultrasound, and other therapies increase blood flow, making it easier for healing nutrients in your blood to reach the injured area.
An Effective Treatment Option for Lifting Injuries. Overexertion injuries, including those that involve lifting, pushing, and carrying, were the second most common cause of workplace injuries that resulted in missed days of work, according to the National Safety Council. Chiropractors use a variety of treatments, including adjustments, massage, trigger point therapy, flexion distraction, and electrical stimulation to treat sprains, strains, subluxations, sciatica, herniated discs, and other issues caused by lifting injuries.
More Flexibility. Have you noticed that your back and neck are stiff, or it's harder to move your arm or leg after your injury? Inflammation, subluxations, muscle tension, muscle spasms, trigger points, and scar tissue can cause stiffness and poor range of motion. Chiropractic treatments improve flexibility and range of motion and decrease stiffness.
Relief for Repetitive Stress Injuries. Repetitive stress injuries happen when you perform the same action repeatedly. The injuries can damage ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves. Common types of repetitive stress injuries include tendinitis, bursitis, golfer's elbow, tennis elbow, trigger finger, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Chiropractic treatments like massage, myofascial release, adjustments, and trigger point therapy improve movement, break down scar tissue, boost blood flow, and ease pain, swelling, stiffness, numbness, and tingling.
Better Posture. Subluxations and tight tissues can occur when poor posture stresses your spine. These issues may lead to muscle imbalances that make it harder to prevent a fall when you slip on a freshly washed floor. Unfortunately, subluxations and tight muscles and tissues make it difficult to maintain proper posture. Correcting these issues with chiropractic treatments makes it much easier to avoid slouching. Your chiropractor can also offer posture suggestions and recommend helpful posture-friendly exercises.

Struggling with a work-related injury? Relieve your pain with chiropractic care. Contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

NCBI: Pain Medicine: Impact of Chiropractic Care on Use of Prescription Opioids in Patients with Spinal Pain, 12/25/2020

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32142140/

National Safety Council: Top Work-Related Injury Causes

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/work-overview/top-work-related-injury-causes/

American Chiropractic Association: Back Pain: Prevention and Conservative Treatment, 8/22/2022

https://handsdownbetter.org/back-pain-prevention-and-conservative-treatment/

WebMD: What to Know About Overexertion, 2/27/2024

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-to-know-about-overexertion