Did you know that neck pain affects two-thirds of American adults at some point in their lifes? Did you know that approximately 90% of the long term cases of chronic neck pain occur from rear end collisions? Whiplash and neck pain is a serious and growing health concern. Consider this new study released in Spine magazine:

The study had to do with a two year follow up of people with neck pain. They compared the various treatments and options often available to whiplash/neck pain patients. They looked at 200 people suffering with chronic neck pain over 11 weeks of treatment, and recorded their progress over the next two years. The patients were randomly divided to receive 20 one-hour treatments, in one of the methods listed below:

- spinal manipulation and light soft-tissue massage from experienced chiropractic clinicians;

- chiropractic spinal manipulation plus rehabilitative exercise from trained exercise therapists, including stretching and dynamic neck exercises; or

- rehabilitative neck exercises using a variable resistance, neck extension and rotation machine.

    Patient-rated pain was lower for both exercise groups than for manipulation alone, and the ecercise groups benefited more regarding pain, disability, improvement and health status. Spinal manipulation plus exercise provided greater satisfaction than manipulation alone or rehabilitative exercises, however. The advantage of both manipulation plus exercise and machine exercises over manipulation alone continued over the two-year follow-up period. This comes from a chiropractic research website and the study listed below from Spine.

     Really, How effective is chiropractic fort whiplash? As a D.C., I am obviously biased. My firsthand experiences treating numerous auto injuries patients over the years - often patients that sought us out after running the gamut of options prior to getting to me- shows how effective chiropractic is http://www.BeyondChiropracticClinic.com. But don't take my word for it. As I said, I'm biased towards all the benefit of chiropractic. Take a look at this research that I came across from the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine. The study confirms that chiropractic may indeed offer the best relief for whiplash and neck pain. The study looked at 93 people who complained of chronic http://www.BeyondChiropracticClinic.com. They all received an average of 19 chiropractic treatments over four months. Results showed that two of the three groups (patients with neck pain restricted neck range of motion and/or neurological symptoms) improved under chiropractic care, with 85.5% reporting "some benifits," 33.5% improving by two symptoms grades, and 31% being relieved of all symptoms. The authors of this study conclude, when it comes to treating whiplash, "chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment." Hey, those were their words not mine.

An injury or a range of injuries caused by a sudden movement of the head, backward, forward, or sideways, is referred to as whiplash. Whiplash usually occurs with vehicular collisions and athletic accidents but it can happen in normal everyday settings such as work or in school. It happens when, for example, you’re in a car and you hit something or something else hits your vehicle. The result may lead you to overstretch or tear the muscles and ligaments supporting your spine and your head. Your head may be extended beyond its limits because of the sudden impact, thus the whiplash injury.

Its common symptoms consist of:

- Headaches,

- Neck/back/shoulder pains

- Fatigue

- Nausea

- Ringing in the ears

- Dizziness

- Pain in the arms and/or legs

- Difficulty in swallowing

- Impaired vision

The symptoms vary from person to person that’s why it’s important to have yourself checked if you were involved in any accident that has impulsively hurt your head or neck. To diagnose the problem, the victim should seek help from a medical professional. He/she should have their head and neck examined and should undergo an x-ray to identify if there are any bone fractures. A whiplash may be present though even without getting any of your bones broken. Some of those who get a hold of whiplash injuries may suffer soft tissue damage, which doesn’t show up on normal x-rays and radiographs.

Whiplash injuries heal within six to nine months when dealt with suitable attention. Unfortunately there are those who continue to suffer from whiplash injuries even after two years after it manifested. They continue to go through pain long after the incident happened. Whiplash is an injury that requires utmost and careful attention from a skillful health practitioner. Chiropractic care has been proven as one of the most, if not the most effective treatment of whiplash injuries. Any sign of the injury may be removed with the help of chiropractic.

Chiropractors carry expertise in properly maintain the spine. They employ their skill and knowledge in spinal manipulation to put it back in its ideal structure and function. If the patient suffers from soft tissue damage, massage therapy, electro-stimulation, trigger point therapy, stretching and specific strength and range of motion exercises will aid the healing of the soft tissue. With these, they can treat chronic whiplash injuries completely. A patient need not worry about it bothering them anymore.

Whiplash injuries may prove to be complicated; but with proper diagnosis and treatment, it won’t pose too much of a problem. Chiropractic care and a good rehabilitation plan as such as limiting strenuous activities and getting the right nutrition and exercise will fully recover your body in no time.

A patient and I were discussing the risk factors of back pain about a month ago.  One primary risk factor back pain relates to exercise.  Everyone has heard, "If you don't use it you will lose it".  If you're not exercising regularly, your back muscles are de-conditioned and much more susceptible to injury- the strains and sprains we're accustomed to "back pain".

Muscles get stronger when they're required to do work.  Also exercise helps "train" the soft tissues around a joint- the ligaments and tendons- these supporting structures "learn" how to withstand mechanical stresses and loads without becoming injured.  Basically, when you exercise- when you do any kind of exercise- your body gets "smarter" and you're less likely to get those annoying back problems.

A related risk factor is weak abdominal muscles.  When you were a kid, at some point one of your gym teachers probably told you to "suck in your stomach".  Actually, turns out that was pretty good advice.  Your abdominal muscles support the muscles of your low back.  If your abdominals are weak or if you're not using them- let them hang out and droop instead of keaping them activated - your body weight has to be help up by the muscles of your lower back.  They're not designed to do that they're designed to move your spine around.  And eventually, these lower back muscles will give way under the excess strain.  The result is a very painful lower back injury.

There are many easy-to -do exercises for your abdominal muscles.  The key is to actually do them- and do them after you're finished doing the rest of whatever event you've scheduled for that day.  How often?  Three times a week is plenty.  Abdominal routines are quick - no more than 10 minutes and remember to use you abdominal muscles throughout the day.  Imagine your abdominal are being pulled in and lifted up.  Learning about potential risk factors on taking appropriate action will help ensure a stronger, more flexible, and healthier lower back.  Do you have back pain?  You may need an adjustment, stop by our office or call for patient specials.  have a great day and I will write again soon!