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Whiplash

Can a Chiropractor Help With Whiplash?

Chronic pain and other problems related to whiplash injury can make the simplest of tasks difficult to manage and significantly affect your daily functioning. While various pain medications may provide some initial relief, merely masking the symptoms of whiplash will eventually lead to more serious physical problems. Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center chiropractors provide effective treatments that not only help to reduce pain and the range of symptoms common to whiplash related injury, but will also identify and address underlying issues in the head and neck that may be the source of chronic whiplash pain.

What is Whiplash?

The result of a sudden impact that causes rapid forward and backward movement of the head and subsequently affects the neck and shoulders, whiplash is often the result of a motor vehicle accident but may also occur due to a range of activities from improper body alignment while performing strenuous tasks, to accidental injury incurred during sports or recreational activities. In precise terms, whiplash injury refers to damage to the bone structures and soft tissues in affected areas that frequently develop into long-term whiplash-related disorders.

Symptoms of Whiplash

Although whiplash injury is centralized in the neck and spine, pain may extend to the arms, shoulders, hips and legs. Many sufferers experience symptoms that include chronic headaches, blurred vision, numbness in the hands and arms and discomfort that alternates between generalized soreness to sharp acute pain. If left untreated, chronic whiplash cases can develop into problems with anxiety, depression and drug dependency in an attempt to manage pain. In addition, misalignment of the spine caused by the initial whiplash injury may not surface for months or even year and eventually create seemingly unrelated health and mobility problems. A licensed Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center chiropractor will provide a tailored treatment plan for whiplash injury and offer lifestyle recommendations to improve flexibility relieve chronic pain and facilitate overall healing.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash Injury

Following a thorough physical evaluation and medical history assessment, your Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center chiropractor will identify all areas of mobility that have been restricted due to whiplash injury by checking for intervertebral disc injury and assessing spinal joint function. Chiropractic adjustments for whiplash related injury are carefully tailored according to each patient’s specific symptoms following the precise identification of affected areas. Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center chiropractic care for whiplash is always geared toward restoring mobility and flexibility without the use of medication or invasive procedures.
Depending on your specific condition, chiropractic adjustments involve manual manipulation to align the joints, combined with muscle stimulation techniques and gentle stretching to induce muscle relaxation. Patients are instructed in carrying out specific exercises at home geared to promote disc realignment to reduce pain and whiplash symptoms. Your chiropractor may also recommend additional therapies that include ultrasound, trigger point therapy and massage to treat pain and encourage healing. Treatments may last a few weeks up to a few months and are tailored according to the severity of your condition as well as several other factors including age, lifestyle and level of activity.

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  • Aurora Back Pain

  • Naperville Back Pain

  • Wheaton Back Pain

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Dr. Norgaard’s first exposure to chiropractic was when he was a high school football player at Neuqua Valley in Naperville, Illinois. Nagging injuries led him to Action Chiropractic and Dr. Durnas. He was amazed with the results he got and knew that the treatments provided at Action Chiropractic were the best way to address his ailments.
After high school, Dr. Norgaard left Naperville and attended Central College in Pella, Iowa. While at Central, he majored in biology and played football, further piquing his interest in sports injuries and how to treat them. When he wasn’t in the classroom or on the football field, Dr. Norgaard spent his time volunteering at hospitals, and at various clinics. This is when he really developed a passion for helping people get better.
His experiences as an athlete, chiropractic patient, and volunteer shaped his decision to become a chiropractor.
After graduating from Central, Dr. Norgaard continued his education at Palmer College of Chiropractic.
While at Palmer, Dr. Norgaard took several extracurricular courses focusing on spinal diagnosis and therapy, soft tissue care, and diagnosis and treatment of the extremities. He completed a 4-month internship with Dr. Durnas at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center and further developed his skills as a physician.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Palmer in October of 2021 and received the Academic Excellence Award.
After graduation, Dr. Norgaard joined the team at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center. He currently resides in the Naperville area with his wife, Shannon, son, Parker, and dog, Alby.
“I chose to become a chiropractor because I was helped by chiropractic. I was in such discomfort it took me over 3 minutes to put on my socks. After seeing a chiropractor, and regaining the ability to tie my shoes, I realized that taking loads of NSAIDs did not address the fact that there was something causing the pain. The more I learned about it, I found that Chiropractic doesn’t just hide symptoms, like I was trying to do with pills, it fixes the origin of the problem.”
Dr. Durnas graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology and Bachelors of Arts degree in Chemistry. After graduation he worked in research and development for 3 years and dabbled in powerlifting and professional wrestling. That’s what lead him to chiropractic school. While at Palmer College of Chiropractic, he focused on learning how to best help the athlete. He took several extracurricular courses on how to address soft tissue injuries, how to adjust extremities, and how to better manage sports injuries. He graduated in June of 2012, where we were the Palmer Clinical Excellence Award winner and a keynote speaker at commencement.
In 2019, Dr. Durnas earned his Diplomate from the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP)®. He is only the 427th chiropractor in history to earn this designation, and only the 6th recipient in the history of Illinois. He completed over 300 hours of classroom and online courses focusing on in depth on the diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries, concussions, and emergency procedures, and had over 100 on the field hours with athletes that ranged from cross fitters, professional and high school football players, professional BMX and Motocross riders, triathletes, and runners. Dr. Durnas passed a 6-part practical exam and a 250 question Board exam and contributed a case study involving nerve damage in a professional athlete following a hit to the shoulder.