The rainy season is upon us, and I’m seeing quite a few car accident patients in practice.
Car accidents generally tend to increase during inclement weather due to impaired visibility and less road traction. In a lot of cases, one car is stopped at a stop sign, red light, or in traffic; and the approaching car fails to stop in time, rear-ending the car in front.
When this happens, the person in the struck car typically sustains more “soft tissue” injuries because she is unaware of the impending collision and is relaxed; whereas the offending driver sees it coming and braces her neck and shoulders in preparation for the collision.
At the time of collision, the victim’s torso accelerates at the same speed of the offending car (let’s say 20 mph) but the head lags due to the flexible nature of the neck. In essence, the neck acts like a spring: it arcs backwards, builds up energy and “whips” the head forward to catch up to the torso, causing an over-correction (loading the spring in the opposite direction), and releases this energy by whipping the head and neck backwards. In the process, microtears (very tiny tears to the muscle strands) occur along the muscles surrounding the back of the head, around the neck, upper shoulders, and upper to mid back. Sometimes the whiplash is so extreme that even the lower back is affected.
Chiropractic care protocols for soft tissue injuries involve two phases: pain reduction and functional restoration. The first couple of treatments focus on reducing pain and decreasing swelling. This can take anywhere from 4-12 visits depending on the severity of the accident. In my clinic, I typically recommend high potency fish oil supplements at this stage to reduce the inflammatory response. Fish oil has a substance called EPA that is a proven, natural inhibitor of inflammation.
Next, gentle chiropractic spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapies and exercises are done to restore proper movement and alignment to displaced vertebrae. By this time, much of the pain has disappeared, and the focus is to ensure that flexibility and joint integrity are restored to prevent chronic problems from surfacing in the future.
Most patients are discharged feeling better than before the accident. Visit my website for more information on the topic of whiplash and car accident injury treatment.
If you or someone you know were hurt in a car accident, make sure to call the office at (415) 627-9077 to get checked. Sometimes it takes three (3) days after the accident for pain to peak. Also, in some cases neuropathy (nerve involvement) can occur, so it’s best to see a doctor.
Next time, I’ll talk about how you should handle car insurance issues.
Till then,
Dr. Perez
San Francisco ChiropractorTechnorati Tags: chiropractic, whiplash, car accident
