Whiplash Advice - Chiropractic Treatment for Whiplash

Whiplash Advice
Accolade Chiropractic Care

Have you ever suffered from whiplash?

You're not alone: Of the six million injuries per year due to motor vehicle crashes, about three mil?lion people suffer from whiplash-type injuries. Of those 500,000 - 900,000 will develop chronic pain.

"We have always known that chiropractors are effec?tive with whiplash, but there were lots of theories as to why,"" explains Dr. Dan Murphy, a chiropractor who teaches on the subject of whiplash throughout the world.. "Now, it appears that by the very nature of what we do, chiropractors are most effectively treating the tissues injured during an accident," says Dr. Murphy.

According to two new studies.- one in the journal Injury and another in the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine - people who failed under medical management were referred to chiropractors for treatment of chronic whiplash pain. "In both studies, the results were phenomenal, 'and one of the conclusions is that chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment for chronic whiplash." says Dr. Murphy.

Research soon to be published in the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain shows that there are risk factors for acute whiplash injury and that chronic pain can occur even after the most minor of accidents. "We are finding that risk factors for acute injury, such as having the head rotated, being out of position in the vehicle, lack of preparation for the crash and being struck from the rear, are present not only for initial injury, but also for chronic injury," says Dr. Michael Freeman, a chiropractor and PhD clinical assistant professor of epi?demiology at Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine.

"If you are injured, whether the vehicle sustains no major damage or is totaled, therès a one-in-three chance you will have chronic pain," says Dr. Freeman.

According to Dr. Arthur Croft:, a chiropractor and whiplash researcher, techno?logical improvements are being perfected in an effort to prevent whiplash. Dr. Croft explains that seat and head restraint improvements have already been made in. models of automobiles designed by Saab and Volvo.

Sophisticated forward- and rear-looking systems are also being developed to gauge the distance between cars. A computer chip on board will contain a pre? programmed set of instructions to allow calculation of impending crash conditions.

So, how many crashes can actually be avoided? Perhaps only 10 percent, according to Dr. Croft. "But what we've found in our whiplash studies is that the people