If you’ve ever been in a car accident where the car was jerked significantly from front to back, chances are pretty good you suffered some degree of whiplash. What is whiplash? Whiplash occurs when the neck is suddenly and forcefully jerked, and is typically associated with car crashes. The speed at which the neck is forced upon impact is faster than we can contract our muscles in attempt to stop the forceful movement. This results in muscle, tendon, and/or ligament over-stretching, and sometimes even tearing. Symptoms include stiff and painful neck movements, weakness, the head feeling “heavy,” making it challenging to hold up, headaches, and sometimes dizziness, ear noises, and/or jaw pain, and occasionally patients have reported feeling a “mental fog.”
What should be done if a whiplash injury occurs?
There are a number of treatment options for whiplash, ranging from “traditional” medical attention, almost certainly resulting in nothing more than being advised to take over-the-counter or prescription drugs, to chiropractic treatment, where we seek to treat the cause of the problem, rather than simply mask it. Are we biased toward chiropractic care for whiplash? Of course, but it’s not just due to personal opinion. The opening statement of a recent research study (by a leading orthopedic medical journal) on the topic stated “Conventional [meaning medical] treatment of patients with whiplash symptoms is disappointing.”
The study went on to state its findings, which showed clearly that chiropractic care is highly effective for patients suffering from whiplash. The study consisted of evaluating 93 patients who suffered from various forms of whiplash. The average time from injury to first treatment was 12 months, and an average of 19 treatments over a 4 month time frame was utilized. The results of the study were that 72% of those patients who had experienced neck and upper shoulder pain, accompanied by loss of neck range of motion (ROM) reported improvement, and a full 94% of those with neurological problems (arm/hand numbness and/or weakness) plus neck pain and ROM loss saw improvement.
This study is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it illustrates how effective chiropractic care is for patients suffering from whiplash injuries. Perhaps more importantly though, we can safely assume that while these patients received chiropractic treatment a year after their injuries, they likely took medication immediately upon feeling the headache, muscle pain, and stiffness that occurred after their accidents. This further demonstrates the point that drugs are merely a short-term, “band-aid” treatment for symptoms, whereas chiropractic care treats the underlying issue, and is therefore a lasting solution. Imagine if these patients had sought chiropractic treatment immediately following their accidents. They might very well have forgotten all about their pain well before the one-year anniversary of their injuries.
The moral of the story? If you’ve been in a collision, give our office a call right away. We’ll get you in for an evaluation and make sure you’re well cared for – the natural, chiropractic way.