WHIPLASH & CERVICAL SPRAIN
Whiplash injury, or cervical sprain (hyper-extension/hyper-flexion) is responsible for most nerve root irritations at the cervical level. This injury is caused by a sudden movement of the neck in a direction with opposite rebound.
These traumas can cause typical sprains of various degrees with subluxations of joint processes as well as stretching, tearing, and hemorrhages more or less important in the ligament and capsular structures. It is therefore appropriate that this is a very harmful injury to the body but also the spirit. We will see later but the psychological aspect is very much taken into account here.
What is the cause?
You guessed it: car accidents. They are the main culprits for most of the whiplash but they are not the only ones and for proof a simple fall in ski, or on bike can also be the cause.
What to know?
It is important to know one thing: speed. The speed because yes it should not be underestimated, even an impact at 10km / h can have consequences. The number of cervical sprains is estimated at around 30% following a shock at this rate.
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What are the consequences?
The symptoms are very large, because in addition to neck pain (cervical pain) that follow, it can also occur: shoulder pain, headache (headache), muscle spasm with torticollis, irradiation in arms type pain, numbness or tingling, we will then talk about NCB more commonly known as cervico-brachial neuralgia, as well as more important neurological signs such as nausea, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), vision problems, vertigo, anxiety, or the famous depression, etc.
Often post-traumatic examination reveals nothing, but that does not mean that some symptoms may wake up later (days, weeks and even years)
The image above (post-accident) shows us a reversal of curvature, so we will talk about cervical rectitude. The latter is mainly involved in cervical spondylosis.
Cervical Sprain
Once the control examinations have been performed and the risk of cervical fracture or ligamentous tear have been ruled out, the chiropractor can then attack his care.
The following article shows us the effects:
"Chiropractic treatment of chronic 'whiplash' injuries." Woodward MN1, JC Cook, Gargan MF, Bannister GC. (1996-Injury)
Result: Of the 28 patients with chronic whiplash symptoms, 93% achieved improvement. Physiotherapy and drug treatments are ineffective on them.