Although the 'rearender' type of accident represents only 20% of motor vehicle accidents, it causes over 80%
of injuries giving long term and persistent symptoms.1,2
A surprised accident victim does not have a chance to brace for impact which can result in more serious
injury to the spine and nervous system.3
An older accident victim will generally suffer a more serious injury because of decreased elasticity,
dramatic loss of flexibility and strength, and slowing of the natural healing rate.4
In general, a woman's lighter musculature means that she will have a higher incident of
injury.5
In a typical collision, having the head turned to one side such as when talking to another passenger, can
dramatically increase the amount of neck injury.6
Do you Suffer From:
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Dizziness
- Stiff or Painful Neck
- Loss of Neck Motion
- Back Pain
- Numbness/Tingling in Limbs
- Dizziness/Loss of balance
- Nausea
- Muscle Spasm/Swelling
- Ringing in Ears
- Early Arthritis
- Bursitis, Neuritis, Tendonitis
- Nervous Anxiety
- Double Vision/Night Blindness
- Pinched Nerves
- Painful Joints
Is the pain you are experiencing related to a minor fender-bender years ago? Whether it is a
recent or an old injury, you can get help to lead a more active life.
50% of
accident victims sustain injuries to the low back, and of these 15% develop serious nerve
damage.7
What Causes Whiplash?
A whiplash injury occurs when the head and neck are thrown
very quickly in one direction and then rebounds in the opposite direction. Because the second,
snapping motion happens faster than the spinal structure can recover, the muscles, ligaments,
and bones in the neck are damaged. This type of injury can also occur in hard falls and diving
accidents.8
The greates amount of injury in a typical rear-end collision is from the shifting about of the
victim's spine. The more the vehicle is accelerated and propelled forward, the more "whipping" actions
occurs.9
Studies indicate that injury can occur at impact speeds of 8 mph where there is little or even no
damage to the car. Even in these types of accidents, the head can receive up to 2 1/2 times more force than
the car itself.10
When the head is rotated (as in talking to someone) or inclined, (as it may be looking up and out through
the rear view mirror), the severity of the injury increases substantially.
Tell Tale Signs of Injury
Many times, severe
whiplash can be detected immediately after a mishap. However, a whiplash injury may take hours, weeks,
months, or even years before symptoms are noticed. This is due in part to the bleeding and formation of
scar tissue that occurs in the deep soft tissues that surround the injured area.
In some cases, whiplash pain can appear at the time of injury, and then decrease as time goes by. Later
severe symptoms can occur when excessive stress is placed on the spine, signaling an untreated whiplash
injury.
The most obvious symptoms of whiplash, even in mild cases, is neck and shoulder pain. But beware of
symptoms you may not relate to the whiplash injury such as headaches, dizziness, stiffness, nausea,
numbness and tingling in the arms or hands, weakness, swelling, back and chst pain, and blurred vision.
How We Treat a Whiplash Injury
A successful treatment plan
consists of the following steps.
- Correction of the spinal structure with manipulation to remove stress on muscles and increase range
of motion.
- Therapies to help reduce pain, relax muscles, and heal deep soft tissue scarring.
- Rehabilitation, stretching, and strengthening exercises are used to strengthen the supporting
muscles and increase range of motion.
- Likewise, prolonged rest, in activity and use of cervical collars have been found to lengthen
disability time.
In addition to caring for your injury, we can provide a comprehensive evaluation of injuries sustained
as a result of an automobile accident or of all and will provide your insurance company and/or attorney
with full documentation of our findings.
Our goal is to relieve pain and restore as much function as possible so that you can enjoy
life again.
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