Motor Vehicle Accidents

Whiplash Injury After a Car Accident: Causes, Symptoms, and Chiropractic Treatment

A whiplash injury can occur in the blink of an eye during an automobile accident, especially in low-speed rear-end crashes. These types of collisions are commonly associated with neck injuries, and it’s widely recognized that significant injury or disability can arise, even when the crash appears minor.

Understanding the Mechanics Behind Whiplash

Whiplash occurs due to inertia—the force that keeps an object in motion or causes it to stop. In low-speed crashes, a stationary vehicle is struck by another, causing a sudden horizontal acceleration that the body isn’t designed to absorb. The human body is built to handle vertical forces (like gravity), but horizontal forces lead to shear forces, which are much harder to endure, particularly for the neck. These forces can lead to neck strain, muscle injury, and damage to the facet joints in the cervical spine. Even moderate shear forces can result in injury due to the neck’s range of motion.

Interestingly, neck muscle reflexes designed to protect the body during impact can sometimes increase the risk of injury. Muscles may tighten in response to the collision, creating compressive force on the facet joints, further exacerbating the injury.

Soft Tissue Injuries Can Appear Weeks After an Accident

Whiplash-related soft tissue injuries might not be immediately obvious and can manifest weeks after the accident. Common symptoms of soft tissue injuries include:

• Neck pain, headaches, and sore muscles in the neck and upper back
• Dizziness, nausea, confusion, and vertigo/balance issues
• Numbness/tingling in the arms, wrists, hands, or fingers
• Mid/low back pain
• Shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, and jaw (TMJ) pain

The Myth of Damage Correlating to Injury Severity

Many believe that the extent of a vehicle’s damage correlates to the severity of occupant injuries. However, research clearly shows no correlation between the amount of damage to a car and the likelihood of injury. In fact, a vehicle with less visible damage may result in higher forces experienced by the driver, as stiffer vehicles don’t absorb impact energy as well. This stiffness can lead to greater torso accelerations, making it more difficult to keep the head and torso moving together during the crash, which increases the risk of whiplash injury.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash Treatment

There is growing medical support for chiropractic treatment following a whiplash injury. Studies have consistently shown that spinal manipulation therapy is highly effective in treating chronic neck pain caused by whiplash. Key studies include:

• A 1996 study by Hurwitz in Spine found spinal manipulation to be highly effective for chronic neck pain treatment.
• Aker’s 1996 research in The British Medical Journal further supported this, recommending chiropractic care for mechanical neck pain.
• In 1997, Khan et al. in The British Journal of Orthopedic Medicine concluded that chiropractic is the most effective treatment for whiplash.
• Giles’ 1999 research in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics confirmed that chiropractic care is more effective than NSAIDs or acupuncture in treating neck pain.