Whiplash

I’m seeing a fair number of people right now who have been in car accidents

- so I figure this is an appropriate topic.

I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t like the term whiplash because the word seems to mean different things to different people. So, in all honesty the title should be car accident injuries.Because there are so many groups interested in car accidents (auto makers, insurance companies, lawyers, doctors, researchers, etc.) there is quite a bit known about the injuries suffered by those in car accidents.

If you have been in a car accident you’ll understand some of the things I’ll talk about today from your personal experience. Other things that research has uncovered isn’t widely known or understood. These are the things I want to bring to light for you today.But before we do that let’s go over a two things you should do to protect yourself if you’re ever in a car accident.

Wear your seat belt.

It’s no secret that wearing a seat belt will save your life in a car accident. A seat belt may increase injury to your neck but the alternative is far worse.

Your headrest should reach the middle of your head. Injury to the neck happens because the seat belt locks down the shoulders and hips so at impact the neck is thrown forward and backward. Having the headrest up prevents the head from being thrown backward. If it’s set below the center of your head when the head goes back it will actually go over the top of the headrest and the headrest will actually contribute to greater injury. Research suggests that those with properly positioned head rests will have 40% fewer instances of neck pain than those with poorly placed headrests.

Go to www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx to see how your car's headrest compares.

The greatest myth in regards to those involved in car accidents is the idea that car damage equals severity of injury. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE. In fact, some of the worst injuries occur at 10 mph or less. The reason for this is magnification of acceleration. For example an eight-mile per hour rear end collision of two vehicles of the same mass produces a 2g (gravity) acceleration of the vehicle and a 5g acceleration of the occupants head. In a 15 mile per hour collision, the struck vehicle will accelerate to 10g; and consequently, the head of the occupant would be accelerated to 20-25g. Since g is the acceleration of gravity (32 feet/sec2), one can understand that even low speed accidents can cause significant traumas to the neck.

In comparison an astronaut will experience about 3g’s in the space shuttle at take off.

Suffice it to say that the factors that limit or minimize the damage to the vehicle are the same factors that result in greater damage to the people in the car.

Arthur Croft is a renowned researcher in the field of motor vehicle accidents and he has developed diagnosis and treatment parameters that are the standard for all of us who deal with these conditions. He and his team of researchers discovered that there are primarily four things that determine severity of injury and what kind of outcome you can expect. Those are range of motion, nerve injury, ligament injury and disc injury / broken bone.

It’s important to point out that pain is NOT one of the criteria because pain is personal, private experience. What is pain to you may not be to me and vice versa. I’ve seen loads of people who had significant injury and little pain.

As far as range of motion goes you should be able to touch your ear to your shoulder when bending side to side. When twisting to each side you should be able to go where your chin is parallel with yoru shoulder. Going forward your chin should touch your chest and going backwards you should be able to go where your face is parallel to the ceiling.

If you are unable to do these movements or unable to do them without pain or tightness you may have a car accident injury. Assessing nerve, ligament & disc injury is something that must be done be a professional. If you don’t mind me saying, I’ve got over 150 hours of postgraduate training in the diagnosis and treatment of car accident injuries. So, if you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident I can help. If you have questions or concerns you can contact me via email DrNed@juno.com or you can schedule a complimentary phone consultation and I will personally answer any questions and point you in the right direction based on your situation.