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Whiplash and Neck Injury
Presented by: Joel Adkins DC
Introduction
Chiropractic has been a blessing to
millions of people who have had
whiplash injuries. What exactly is a
whiplash injury and how does chiropractic help?
Whiplash is not a disease like arthritis
or high blood pressure, but a description of how an injury occurred. When
a person suffers a whiplash injury he or
she is telling you that their spine,
usually their head and neck, were
unexpectedly thrown very quickly in
one direction and then rebounded in the
opposite direction. Their head was
"whipped around" on their neck,
usually front to back, but it can also
happen from a side to side motion of
the neck as well. To complicate
matters, if their head is rotated even a
slight bit to the right or left during the
accident the effects of the injury are
increased.
Where's the Damage?
The vast majority of whiplash sufferers
misalign the spinal bones (cervical
vertebrae) in their neck and cause
nerve, joint, ligament, tendon, muscle
and disc stress, irritation or damage.
Chiropractors have a special name to
describe this type of condition – a
vertebral subluxation. Research is
revealing it to be the most common
source of pain and discomfort from
whiplash injuries.1
What is a Vertebral
Subluxation?
A whiplash injury is a dramatic example of one type of vertebral subluxation; the kind produced by accident or
trauma. Subluxations may also be
caused by emotional stress and tension
that slowly build up day by day;
micro-trauma. A chiropractic examination often includes a discussion of your
personal habits and any injuries, falls,
accidents or situations which may
contribute to subluxations. Chiropractors are the only healthcare professionals specially trained to locate and
correct your subluxations.
Whiplash Symptoms –
Body and Mind
Immediately after an accident you may
feel some neck soreness or stiffness,
perhaps accompanied by a headache a
few hours later. Various symptoms
may develop later, such as pain,
numbness, tingling or a pins-and-needles feeling between the shoulder
blades, in the arm, hand and fingers.
Depending on the nerves affected you
may have ear ringing, dizziness,
hearing loss, eye pain, blurred vision,
sensitivity to light, nasal problems, low
back pain and even internal organ
problems.2-4
Presented by: Adkins Chiropractic PC
9138 Arlon Street Suite B4 Anchorage AK 99507 (907)333-3535
www.adkinsalaska.com
Exercise of the Week
Lumbar stabilization (stage 3)
Difficulty: Moderate
(Consult your chiropractor before
starting this or any other exercise.)
Start: On hands and knees. Be
aware of position of spine – start
with a neutral spine or a flat back.
Engage inner abdominal muscles
by bringing belly button inward.
Exercise: Keeping spine steady,
reach one arm over head, elbow
straight, with thumb pointing up
to ceiling. Then, extend opposite
leg outChiropractic
behind until knee is
straight. Try to hold arm and leg
is the only proven
at same height, preferably in line
effective
treatment
with
spine. Balance
and hold for
10-15
seconds.
Switch
arm/leg,
in chronic cases
balance and hold for 10-15
seconds. Perform 3-5 sets of this
exercise per side.
Psychological Changes
Whiplash sufferers sometimes have
memory, thinking, vision and psychological problems even if there is no
head or brain injury.5 Research has
revealed that a neck subluxation can
cause decreased blood flow to the
brain!
Concussion
A concussion may accompany a
whiplash. In a concussion the brain is
thrown around inside the skull - similar
to scrambling an egg without damaging
the shell. Concussion symptoms may
include headache, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, moodiness, depression
and emotional 'jitters' that may last for
hours, days or months after the
accident.
Immediately After The
Accident
Anyone who has been in an accident
should first make sure there is no
life-threatening emergency such as
broken bones, bleeding, internal organ
damage, serious contusions or abrasions, shock or other damage. This is
the specialty of emergency medicine.
Although the X-rays, MRI or CT scans
and other tests may have found "nothing" the patient's spine has not been
analyzed for subluxations. The patient
will not completely heal, may suffer
from chronic problems and may
develop arthritis and disc problems
years after the accident because a
chiropractor was not consulted right
away.
It is essential that after the patient is out
of immediate danger, when it is safe to
do so, every accident victim be checked
by a doctor of chiropractic for vertebral
subluxations.
The damage to the joints, discs, nerves,
vertebrae and related tissues caused by
subluxations will not go away by itself.
No amount of drugs or therapies will
give the patient what the doctor of
chiropractic can give: the spinal
adjustment which realigns the spinal
column safely and easily, without drugs
or surgery.
Chronic Whiplash
Problems
Some whiplash symptoms heal rapidly,
yet others may suffer long-term chronic
pain and impairment. From 50% to as
many as 88% may continue to suffer
pain and some amount of disability for
many years after the accident.6
Those who have chronic complaints
due to incomplete healing after an
accident are said to suffer from various
conditions know as Post-concussion
Syndrome (PCS), Whiplash Syndrome
(WS), Post Whiplash Syndrome
(PWS), Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries
(MTBI) and mild head injury (MHI).
Chiropractic Care for
Whiplash Victims
Chiropractic effectiveness with whiplash sufferers has long been observed
and reported in professional journals.
In fact, chiropractic's superiority was
finally admitted in a major medical
journal when after the authors interviewed 93 patients they concluded:
"Whiplash injuries are common.
Chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment in chronic cases."
In Conclusion
Any accident may cause the vertebral
subluxation complex where the spinal
vertebrae are out of proper alignment
and irritating or damaging spinal
nerves. If you've ever been involved in
any accidents, whiplash or otherwise,
no matter how long ago, please see
your doctor of chiropractic to ensure
that you have really healed as completely as possible. Trauma or injury
from many years ago may be responsible for health problems suffered today.
Disclaimer: Information contained in The Wellness ExpressTM newsletter is for educational and general purposes
only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained
herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional.
Copyright © - The Wellness ExpressTM
Quote to Inspire
“When you are in the
eye of the storm, you
are often not aware of
the whiplash.”
Hugh Bonneville
References and Sources:
1. Lord, WM, Barnsley L, Wallis, BJ,
Bogduk, N. Chronic cervical
zygopophysial joint pain after
whiplash: a placebo- controlled
prevalence study. Spine, 1996:
1996:21:1737-1745.
2. Chrisman, OD, Gervais, R.F.,
Otologic manifestations of the
cervical syndrome. Clin. Orthop.
1962; 24:34-39.
3. Stewart, DY, Current concepts of
the ‘Barre Syndrome’ or the
‘Posterior Cervical Sympathetic
Snydrome’. Clin. Orthop.
1962; 24: 40-48
4. Brown, S. Ocular dysfunction
associated with whiplash injury.
Aust. J. Physiother. 1995; 41:
55-56.
5. Di Stefano, G, Radanov, BP.
Course of attention and memory
after common whiplash. Acta
Neurol. Scand. 1995; 91; 346-352
6. Seletz, E. Whiplash injuries:
neurophysiological basis for pain
and methods used for rehabilitation. JAMA 1958;
168:1750-1755.
Note: Other references available
upon request
Writer: Tedd Koren, D.C.
Design: Maria Camille Almirañez
Production: Troy Butler