CHIROPRACTIC INTERNIST
ROBERT W. SMITH, D.C., DABCI
Baton Rouge Chiropractic and Nutrition
225-291-2626
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Auto Accident Chiropractic Care by a Chiropractic Internist is all about the Restoration of a Healthy returning to Better health!

The name whiplash is not a diagnosis.  It is a description of the movement pattern of the head and neck that came about first with railroad trains. The trains had only recently developed the new impact dampening braking systems to stop or the reduce the forces of the train cars pulling and stopping.

The problem was, as the rail car were being coupled and uncoupling, the impact of the knuckles coming together and apart; were so forceful, the wheel would sometime, come off the track. Damage the rail cars wheels and axles. 

The new braking system made it possible for passenger trains development - helped keep the cars on the tracks and people in there seats was a major improvement - but the brakes reduction in the impact did not stop the hurting of the necks of passenger that had their backs to the direction of the impact. The passenger train car idea were a add on idea as most of the money in the rail business came from transporting other things.

The mechanism was called whiplash, because the motion of the head on the neck from the side look as if the head was moving like a buggy whip. This injury occurs when the head and neck are whipped from back to front, similar to how a whip.  This lead to the development of higher seat backs with padding in the passenger trains.  Much like the headrest (head-restraints) in today's automobiles. 

Almost half of auto accidents are rear-ending type collisions, with whiplash movement being a common result of the head not being stopped by the hear restraint.  Whiplash forces can also occur from other kinds of trauma, accidents, abuse and even falls with abrupt stops.

The advances in science that talks about neuroanatomy of joint  capsules injuries has developed with the advent of electron microscopy and high-speed video fluoroscopy.  The good news is death rates are dropping due to better engineering of vehicles.  The bad news is inattentive drivers are increase with smart phones not making smart choice's.   Many people in Baton Rouge who have been involved in an accident don't even realize they have received a whiplash injury until weeks or months later when the problem becomes persistent and leads to other issues.   If your neck has been injured in an accident or other  incident.  It's a good idea to know what causes the pain and other  problems.

 

Whiplash mechanism of injury in Baton Rouge 

When the neck is relaxed in a sitting posture the whipped effect of the neck happens in millisecond’s from the back to front movement - during a car accident, while playing contact sports such as football, or occasionally from an assault or other physical trauma, a number of things can happen to the spine and surrounding soft tissue. The nerve types called joint receptor will have altered signals that cause the small muscle to contract into a shortened state. This shortened state, initial is a spasm but with time becomes splinting, can cause the normal lordosis cure to become either absent or in some severe cases backwards.  Whiplash mechanism describes the initial movements after impact, but the results can include: 

  • Disc bulges and herniation
  • Subluxations (misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine),
  • Injured bones in the spine,
  • Irritated and damaged nerves
  • Pulled ligaments and muscles in the neck

Sometime just see what the images look like helps:

 

 

 

 

 

What are the Symptoms of Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries can range from mild to very severe. Injuries tend to be more significant when your headrest is positioned too low. If the impact was quite severe or the headrest was low there is the possibility that bones are broken or tissue is damaged and it is highly recommended that you see a chiropractor and receive a thorough examination and x- rays. The receptors of the spinal joint are receptor fields that can have impact in balance and eye movement patterns. Even if the impact seemed mild, you may have whiplash if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

  • Neck pain
  • Shoulder, upper back and arm pain
  • Headaches, cervicogenic headache
  • Blurred vision
  • Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands and fingers
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Depression
  • Pain when turning the head
  • Inability to move or turn the head fully
  • Dizziness
  • Tiredness
  • Jaw pain (Temporomandibular dysfunction)

 

As you can see there are a wide range of symptoms, and not all of them may be immediately traceable to whiplash. Even if you have been cleared by a doctor, your pain could still be related to sprain of ligaments with joint receptors and you may need treatment to correct the problem. If you have recently been injured it's important to get your spine checked as soon as possible. The small joints in the neck called facet joints have a capsular ligament the is richly innervated with nerve endings called joint receptors.

 

Several different common areas of injury in the cervical area:

These are the small spinal nerves that innervate the capsular ligaments of joints can by reflex through the spinal cord cause pain in predictable patterns.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash type injuries:

Because the majority of whiplash incidents impact the spine and the surrounding nerves and tissues, chiropractic care is an excellent avenue for treatment. Chiropractic doctors are skilled in assessing the source of the pain associated with a whiplash injury and determining a plan for effective treatment. Chiropractic treatments are gentle and non- invasive. Through small adjustments, people find great relief from the pain associated with whiplash, and are set on a road to full recovery. Call to discover how chiropractic care can help you recover from whiplash type injuries. Auto accidents can be bad enough to make you hurt - even if you are in decent shape.   Just ask any of the insurance adjusters, judges, or welders I have treated over the years.  People that have to use there necks to make a living; whether its on a computer or welding a pipe it is essential that your neck lets you do your work.

They have all been surprised that a rear-end collision or side impact really can make something that painful.  The biomechanical activities of the neck and spine are amazing. But the biggest problem is when you’re not in perfect shape or even worse have other health issues that make the pain even MORE pronounced and slow the healing process of soft tissue.   Problems types that promote underline  inflammation pain, being over weight  like that of metabolic syndrome - Type 2 Diabetes,   fibromyalgia,  and chronic headaches of the jaw or migraines. Inflammation is a cumulative problem that makes getting the right types of help even more important. These are not just a type of Sports related Injury problem. Healing the athletic person is much easier. 

Because people with these health problems are not athletes, this is why passive motion type treatments and even exercise along will not heal ligaments and cartilage the same way due to back ground inflammation formed by the two most common phenomena called Metabolic Endotoxemia  ( high blood sugar of pre-diabetes with developing obesity from inflammation drivers) and Intracellular Hypercalcinosis  (elevating intracellular and acquired  mitochondrial dysfunction calcium levels from multiple factors)  The beginning of any effective treating of a condition is acknowledging its existence and understanding the problem. This require knowledge about different  drivers of the inflammatory mechanisms seen routinely as complications in people with these kinds of health problems. The ones who already have other nagging health problems. The neck and back pain from the accident is makes the pre-existing health problems  even more of a problem than before the accident. Even if you have problems -that are made worse by the accident - my goal is to help get back as much  of your life as possible.  

 The added insult too of injury of an accident -can make life overwhelming. Take the right step NOW and Don't be part of the 1 in 4- involved in this kind of injury and become the chronic  pain patients.  Insist on the alternative choice. You don’t have to suffer – answers are available that will help speed your recovery from an accident and may even leave you with hope that you didn’t have before the accident. This answer is without giving you a new prescription medication to add to your collection. 

Almost 50 percent of the adults over the age of 21 have some OTHER health issues in Louisiana.  Consider consulting with someone who is capable of using natural means for the reducing of pain caused by inflammation  and keenly aware of how to help you with both the pain of the accidents and the nagging stuff that you have been putting up with – for too long... What do you have to do to lose the pain that is holding you back.   Make the right choice for you to start moving better. These types of pain combination problems are the very type of problems that can lead to  Opioid Pain  Management dependence or worse. 

Remember as many as 25% of whiplash patient end-up with chronic pain.  Starting with the right information and you may improve your odds from 1 in 4.