Whiplash: The Scary Truth.

Many people hear the term “Crack that whip” or “Whip It” and get a certain song in our heads along with the inevitable big smile. If you aren’t familiar with the song by DEVO that was released in the 1980’s, watch the video below. You can thank me later. Just for the record, they are not talking about whiplash.

Whip It!

What many of us forget is the part that states “break your momma’s back”. That is the line that I will focus on in this blog. That line has a lot of significance right now due to our wet roads.

Whiplash… we all hear about it, but what the heck is it?

For simplicity, whiplash is an injury that can occur in your neck during any fast movement of the head. Most whiplashes are caused by car accidents, sports collisions, falls, and any time the head changes directions abruptly (including stopping abruptly). Watch this video to see how even a minor accident can result in major problems, Whiplash slow motion video.

Contrary to popular opinion, whiplash can occur in ANY DIRECTION. While most of the information out there focuses on rear end collisions (just do a google search on whiplash), in reality, any forceful change in direction can also result in LONG TERM neck damage from a whiplash.

Many cases of whiplash do not cause immediate severe pain. In fact, many report “feeling fine” immediately following a car accident. I often ask people that I know may be suffering from a whiplash type injury if they have ever had their structure evaluated. More often than not, I am sad to hear that they didn’t think about it because it “didn’t hurt”. Remember, pain is often the last of the secondary conditions that follow a whiplash. Some other secondary conditions to be aware of are headaches, foggy thoughts, trouble concentrating, loss of enjoyment in hobbies/ activities, depression, anxiety, headaches, irritability, “fussiness” and MANY MANY others. Any change in attitude, feeling of general well being, and/or mood can be a secondary condition of even a minor whiplash. It is NOT uncommon for a whiplash to actually cause residual or a secondary condition of low back pain!

My point in mentioning all of the symptoms above is to impart the importance of ruling OUT any Structural Shifts of the spine before you write of that “minor accident”, fender bender, fall or “bonk” (for the little ones).

Food for thought… in the United States alone there are an estimated 16,000,000 car accidents each year on our roads. How many do you think has one car traveling faster than the slow motion video above? I would venture to say most of them. You can decide for yourself when you realize that all of you can RUN, roll, or ride your bike faster than the speed in the video.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be safe out there and don’t neglect your structure!

If you have been in a recent car accident, then a Complimentary Consultation is a no brainer.

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