WHIPLASH

It was a fall day unlike any other. The temperature was close to perfect and a gentle breeze was blowing. Mary Ann rolled down the windows of her Mustang as she pulled up to the red light. She was relaxed, listening to her favorite music and enjoying the day when, she was hit from behind. She sat there dazed for a few moments, not really knowing what had happened.

Whiplash, it’s a common occurrence, and how you treat it will determine your final outcome. The term whiplash is commonly used for flexion extension injuries of the neck but it also relates to injuries to your mid and lower back. The sudden force of whiplash tears the muscles and ligaments. This is called a strain or sprain depending on the tissue involved. Along with tearing of these tissues, the tissues nerve supply is disrupted. When the tissues tear, the inflammatory reaction takes place causing pain, swelling, heat and redness. Rotation of the neck at the moment of impact causes further problems. When the neck is rotated 45 degrees, the natural range of extension is reduced by approximately 50%, limiting capacity for protective action and increasing risk of injury. Once the body brings the inflammation under control, it attempts to heal the damaged tissue and begins re-building nerve fibers to restore innervation to them. Scar formation also occurs whenever tissues are torn and this may interfere with the restoration of nerve fibers in the damaged region. The body attempts to overcome this by building more nerve fibers in the damaged tissue. The end result is an area of highly sensitive tissue irritated by everyday activities.

It’s very important that you call us for an appointment as soon after the injury as possible. Researchers at the Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, Finland have shown that rest and joint immobilization delays healing of injured tissues and causes osteoarthritis with measurable degenerative changes occurring within one week. Listen to what they say, ?...Bed rest is positively harmful... rest may be equated with immobilization and this is now known to rate significantly as an etilogical factor in osteoarthritis... the need for management of acute musculoskeletal symptoms at the earliest possible stage is therefore clear.? Without restoring function to the injured vertebrae of the spine, degeneration of the joint surfaces and discs occur leading to degenerative arthritis. This can be irreversible.

Along with adjustments to restore spinal function, stretching of the soft tissues is necessary. Unless the damaged tissues are stretched regularly during the healing process, scar tissue will form in a haphazard fashion. This results in shortening of the fibers and permanent disability of the injured area. With regular stretching during the healing phase, scar fibers form along lines of stress resulting in much more normal function of the muscle, tendon or ligament and less permanent disability.

There are three types of care commonly provided after an automobile accident. The first is found in an emergency room. The ER physicians examine for broken bones, puncture wounds and internal injuries. If the examination doesn’t reveal any of these, the doctor provides you with a cervical collar as well as medication for muscle spasm and inflammation.and then releases you. Their job is not to determine the extent of soft tissue injury, loss of function of the spinal vertebrae, or extent of nerve pressure occurring in the spine. The second type is general medical care. This is considered passive care. The doctor prescribes medication, a cervical collar, rest and, at times, physical therapy. The third type of care is chiropractic care. This is active care. This consists of cryotherapy (ice) immediately after the accident, adjustments to restore spinal joint function and exercises to stretch and strengthen the area of injury.

Dr. Mealy, M.D. and his colleagues published a randomized study in the well respected British Medical Journal. They followed the management of patients with acute soft tissue whiplash injuries. Group one was given standard medical treatment, rest and initial immobilization with a soft cervical collar. Group two was given active management utilizing standard chiropractic methods. In this group, ice was applied within the first twenty four hours. The patients were then adjusted and given a regimen of daily exercises.

Four weeks later there was a significant increase in the mobility of the cervical spine (neck) in the patients given active (chiropractic) care. In those patients provided with passive (medical) care there was no increase in cervical movement. Also at both four and eight weeks, the pain was significantly decreased in the active (chiropractic) patients as compared to patients receiving passive (medical) care.

The researchers concluded that early active management was to be preferred.

In a book by Rudy Kacmann, M.D. entitled, ?A Neurosurgeon Looks at Low Back Pain?, he says the following, "I generally prefer to treat whiplash or flexion-extension injury symptoms with hot showers, exercises, mild weight-lifting, physical therapy, and chiropractic treatments. These are mainly musculoligamentous types of injury and should be treated conservatively.? As you will notice, most of the care mentioned here is active care.

Without chiropractic care 85% of people have pain ten years later.

Chiropractic has traditionally introduced early active care and rehabilitation to promote restoration of function and normal lifestyle as soon as possible.

Doctors of chiropractic are the specialists trained in the art of restoring joint function. You won’t find this in a hospital, medical office or physical therapy department.

This occurs within the first eight days.

Recently a young man entered my office for care of his injuries from a car accident. He told me that he had already been to his medical doctor following the accident. When asked what his doctor had done, he said he was told to bend over and touch his toes. He did as he was told even though it hurt. The doctor then told him, ?you hurt, your going to hurt but it will go away?. He was then given Motrin and released. Needless to say, the young man was not impressed and rightly so. This type of an examination reveals almost nothing in regard to the injuries sustained in the accident. And these doctors say we’re nuts.