What happened to your body during your car accident

Most adults, at one time or another, have been in a car accident.  They can be big or small, rear-ended or head-on collision.  Whether you totaled your car or if it just needed some light body work, they are all significant.  Researchers have found that what happened inside your body during this collision was far more disastrous.

The most common injury sustained during any car accident is a whiplash injury.  Nearly 300,000 whiplash injuries happen every year.  A split-second change in speed of only 2.5 mph is significant enough to create this life altering injury.  During the collision, as the body is whipped back and forth, the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that hold the spine and head in place are ripped, creating multiple micro-tears.

The day of a car accident, most people are not yet aware of this common injury as not much pain has hit.  It isn’t until later that night or the next morning when they pain strikes.  The body often feels like it has literally been hit by a truck.  This is the internal swelling phase, which is usually quite painful and can last days to weeks.  However, after this phase passes, many people feel fine and go back to their daily routine.

Common symptoms of whiplash sufferers

Researchers have found that nearly 50% of whiplash sufferers continue to experience symptoms 3-months after their car accident.  They also found that 25% of sufferers still remained symptomatic 6-months later.  Some of the most common symptoms following a whiplash injury include:

Why your health is quietly crumbling!

The KEY to this problem is something we already talked about.  The tearing of the tendons and ligaments which hold the head upright.  When this traumatic event happens, the supporting tissues which keep the spine in place, break down.  This causes the spine to twist and bend and become permanently stuck in a crooked position.  If the spine stays in this crooked position, it will heal with scar tissue, locking the neck and back.

This is like a natural disaster happening inside the body.  Since the spine and spinal nerves are controlling the health and function of your body, over time you slowly begin to breakdown.  What most people are not aware of is that you do not have to be in pain while your spine is starting to weaken and breakdown.  The majority of people go five to ten years or more before their spine has deteriorated enough to cause pain.  By this point, people say they feel like a bystander in their own life, sitting by as they watch their health crumble.

How can Upper Cervical Chiropractic help me?

Some shy away from chiropractic care after an injury.  After all, no one wants their neck popped or twisted right after an accident.  Fortunately, there is a specialized technique known as Upper Cervical Care, which focuses on identifying the small spinal misalignments left behind after traumas like car accidents.  Upper Cervical Chiropractors, or NUCCA Chiropractors, are able to give a gentle and precise correction to unlock and realign the crooked spine.

Spinal Realignment:

1. Reduces neck and back pain
2. Increases range of motion
3. Stops spinal breakdown (arthritis)
4. Allows you to take back your life!

If you or a loved one has been in a car accident or is experiencing whiplash symptoms, we highly encourage you to find your local NUCCA Chiropractor to receive a detailed evaluation so you can see how a NUCCA correction will change your life.  Click the icon for the NUCCA directory. If you need any further recommendations, please email us at DrM@mollandspinalcare.com.