Whiplash—BIG Pain in the Neck…
If you’ve ever taken a physics class, you may be slightly traumatized. Physics can be a difficult science to study!
Two of the basic laws of physics include ‘that an object in motion must stay in motion’ and ‘an object at rest will stay at rest’. I am not qualified to help you file compensation from physics exams you may have taken in high school or college, but I am, however, highly trained in correcting how these forces affect your body.
A common term doctors use after a trauma to the head and neck is whiplash.
Whiplash is a neck injury caused by sudden, forceful, back-and-forth movement. Whiplash involves damage to muscles, tendons that hold muscle to bone, and ligaments that hold bones together including individual vertebrae of the spine. Most commonly we see this injury from car accidents, especially direct rear end or head on collisions, but we also see them from sports injuries, roller coasters, falls, or if you remember the days of whipping our hair back-and-forth.
For decades, research has been constantly investigating how much force it takes to create a whiplash injury on the head, neck, and body. Most current research shows being involved in a collision hit from behind at 5 miles per hour can create enough impact on your spine to cause injury and require treatment. According to research done by Dr. Daniel Murphy DC, a leading researcher in the industry of whiplash, he reports there is no established minimum threshold in real world crashes as our testing is flawed because of the ability to control the health of the subjects and their knowledge of impending impact.
Here comes a math equation:
When a 3500 pound car (about the size of a Camry) is traveling at 10 miles an hour and strikes the rear end of another car at rest, it will transmit a force of 25 tons. Upon striking the vehicle, the person‘s body in the struck vehicle will continue to move forward as that force travels, while the head being hinged at the neck snaps backwards. Oftentimes, this can lead to concussions even if your head does not impact a part of the vehicle due to the brain's movement within the skull. *See video above.
Here’s the good news: muscles, tendons, and ligaments can be treated after injury to stabilize and reduce lasting damage, such as instability, neck pain, headaches, and symptoms into the arms and hands.
Here is the even better news: you can do the same exercises prior to ever having an injury to prevent risk in case of future injury.
Most physical therapy and rehab exercises to stabilize the neck are very simple!
They will usually involve gentle guided movement, restoring proper range of motion to the cervical spine, and activating individual muscles within the neck to build strength. If you have ever experienced a whiplash injury, I highly encourage you to have your spine, muscles, and ligaments checked by a chiropractor or physical therapist to evaluate what protocols would best serve your injured neck and support your future health care needs.