Car Accident

If you have been injured in a car accident, and are suffering from pain as a result of that accident, The Chiropractic Connection can help.

Whiplash

Whiplash is a general description of how an injury occurs, it is not a condition, disease or even a symptom. When a person suffers a whiplash type injury it means their body was thrown around in a "whip" like manner.

THE CAUSE OF WHIPLASH

The whiplash injury occurs most frequently in an auto rear-end collision. When the auto is struck from the rear, its forward speed is accelerated and the passenger's body is also thrown forward but their head remains stationary or is thrown backwards. When the body is suddenly thrown in one direction and the head is thrown backward and then forward, it is called a whiplash injury. This results in hyperextension (beyond the normal backward bending range of the neck) followed by hyperflexion (beyond the normal forward bending) of the neck. A sudden or slamming on the brakes can also result in a whiplash. Even a collision from the side, throwing the head from side to side, can cause a whiplash type injury to,the neck. A whiplash type injury doesn't occur only in automobile accidents. They may occur as a result of any sudden change of movement of the body. This can occur when you step off a curb unaware, in strenuous activity, falls, or sports like hand ball, football, boxing, etc.

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF A WHIPLASH TYPE INJURY?

The vast majority of whiplash type injuries may cause damage to the neck's ligaments, tendons, muscles and spinal vertebral alignment.This may result in symptoms such as: pain and/or stiffness in the neck; headache, either instantaneously or within several hours of the accident; pain with or without numbness and tingling in the arms, hands and fingers; a feeling of pins and needles in the arm, hand and fingers, numbness and tingling, or pins and needles may also be felt between the shoulder blades.
Some may experience auditory and visual symptoms such as ringing in the ears, hearing loss and/or dizziness, pain behind the eyes blurred vision or other visual and auditory symptoms.
Some people have no symptoms immediately following an accident and think they are not injured. Still, they may develop symptoms a few hours, days, weeks or even months after the accident.

WHAT CAUSES THE SYMPTOMS OF WHIPLASH?

Most all the symptoms that a whiplash type injury can precipitate, and there are more than those mentioned above, have at least one thing in common-nerve irritation. When spinal vertebrae misalign even slightly, or their normal mobility altered, sensory and motor nerves can be irritated or even damaged. This is known as a vertebral subluxation complex, or biomechanical lesion commonly shortened to just ...subluxation. Chiropractors have found subluxations to be one of the most common causes of nerve irritation, thus one of the most common contributing factors in whiplash type injury symptoms. When nerves are irritated their impulses are altered this can interfere with the nervous system's ability to regulate, control and coordinate the function or the individual organs and other systems of the body -and may result in improper function and/or pain.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

Correcting the cause is the only way to effectively treat whiplash type injuries. However, the usual medical treatment is to prescribe muscle relaxers, pain pills, anti-inflammatory drugs and other medications to relieve the pain and other symptoms. When drugs do not correct the condition, physical therapy, exercises and sometimes braces are used in addition to the drugs. When that fails to bring satisfactory results, in severe cases, surgery may be recommended. The medical approach at times is necessary. However, medication has side effects that are sometimes very severe, and surgery is very dangerous.

CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Chiropractic is not an extra strength "pain-pill" that only provides temporary relief by blocking the feeling of pain, nor is it a treatment specifically for "whiplash." In spite of this, people who suffer with the symptoms of "whiplash" are seeking chiropractic care in greater numbers than ever because chiropractors treat one of the major causes of "whiplash" symptoms nerve irritation caused by subluxation and have a high level of patient satisfaction. Today, because of our stressful lifestyle, poor eating habits, environmental pollution, lack of proper exercise, etc., millions are suffering from subluxations and nerve irritation. Subluxations can cause malfunction in the body and lead to diseases, and many people may not even know they have a problem until the symptoms become severe and in some cases so severe it is too late for complete restoration of health.

THE ABSENCE OF PAIN DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THE PRESENCE OF HEALTH

Pain is not a disease process, it is only a symptom. You can have a serious health problem with or without pain. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines pain as "a feeling of distress, suffering or agony caused by stimulation of specialized nerve endings." There can be no pain unless these specialized sensory nerves are stimulated (irritated), resulting in the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain. In this case, pain from a "whiplash" is felt only when these nerves are irritated. People without pain might be considered unfortunate because they may think the absence of pain means they are healthy and this may cause them to delay proper treatment. Those that do have pain should not eliminate or cover up the pain with pain killing drugs. This does nothing to correct the cause and may also delay proper treatment. The cause must be corrected before long-lasting relief and health can be restored. Therefore, it is important to understand that the absence of pain does not necessarily mean the presence of health.

PREVIOUS WHIPLASH INJURIES

In many cases of whiplash type injury when nothing is broken, the MD will treat the symptoms and nothing will be done to correct the subluxations. Sometimes years later the symptoms may return and examination will reveal degenerative changes in the bone and soft tissue of the cervical spine due to long-standing subluxations that resulted from an old whiplash type injury.

THE SPINAL CHECKUP

Doctors of chiropractic analyze the spinal column and other joints of the body for the subluxations that can affect nerves, bones, muscles, even blood and lymph vessels. A spinal checkup should be done periodically even if you feel fine, because spinal subluxations may be causing serious harm to your body -sometimes for years -without your knowledge. If your chiropractor finds you have subluxations, specific manipulation techniques (without drugs or surgery) will be used to correct the subluxation and relieve the nerve irritation. This allows normal flow of nerve impulses that contributes to the restoration of normal function and health. This procedure is called a chiropractic adjustment. The direct purpose of the chiropractic spinal adjustment is to reduce nerve irritation. This allows the body to restore itself to a greater level of health and in the process relieves pain.

DON'T DELAY PROPER TREATMENT -CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC ...NOW!

When you have pain, no matter what it's called, delaying proper treatment is dangerous and can result in a major health problem. Seek a chiropractic examination immediately to see if yours is a condition which comes within the scope of chiropractic. The pain you suffer may be because the cause of the pain has been ignored and proper treatment has been delayed. Even if you are seeing other health care providers, it is still advisable to see a chiropractor to make sure your spine is subluxation free and your nervous system is functioning normally because everyone needs a healthy nervous system.