Motor vehicle incidents have become more common place than ever before and though the safety of cars now can prevent serious pathology and even death; whiplash occurs as much as ever than before due to the acceleration and deceleration in these incidents which puts extreme force on the spine and soft tissues.
Research tells us that the spine is a single functional unit and alterations to our natural curvatures and surrounding soft tissues occurs in whiplash incidents. We know that hyperextension most noted in the lower cervical spine accelerates degenerative disc disease and that the probability of future disc/joint disease increases over and above had this incident had not occurred. More so, we now know that damage to the car does not directly correlate to injury due to the ability of deformation of the actual vehicle during impact.
Things to note during an incident to see if care may be right for you:
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- Were you aware that the impact was imminent and did you brace for it?
- We you looking directly ahead or were you turned to one side or the other?
- What was the mass and speed of both the vehicle you were in and the vehicle which impacted you?
- What was the age/sex/size of the drivers and variables in each have unique effects?
How you feel immediately after the incident may also be misleading as the affects may delay slightly as the inflammatory process takes place. Research shows us that injured soft tissues heal over the course of a better part of the year in 3 distinct steps.
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- Acute inflammatory response- about 72 hours
- Regenerative phase 6-8 weeks
- Remodeling phase- up to a year with applied mechanical forces
Each case is unique and you may need to consult with a lawyer to see how your case varies state per state.. Chiropractic can be an integral part of your recovery. In this office, we work with other medical professionals if needed to achieve your best results and ensure you get appropriate care.
Your body is built to move. We develop sagittal curvatures and head over shoulder posture as soon as we begin to lift our head. These postures not only give us appropriate biomechanics but allow us to age and function in an ideal environment. There is an inverse relationship between movement and function in the body even more so in relation to perception of pain. A body in motion is a healthier body. This can be as simple as global movement i.e exercise and ambulation but more so movement within the body; appropriate motion of individual segments promotes healing and limits load bearing wear and tear.