February 2006

Lately, I have been treating a number of patients complaining of neck, upper back, and headache pain resulting from a motor vehicle accident.  Most are involved in rear-end collisions that caused “whiplash,” or snapping of the neck in a forward and backward motion that causes a soft tissue injury to the neck region.  Physiologically, muscle spasm inflames the nerves exiting the cervical spine that travel to the neck, upper back and head regions, resulting in pain and restriction of motion.  In my office, I use a protocol of chiropractic treatment that includes manipulation of restricted joints, soft tissue massage, post-isometric relaxation (PIR) stretching techniques, and deep neck muscle strengthening to help alleviate whiplash injury pain and promote healing.

Recent studies on whiplash have shown that cervical spine soft tissue injuries have been reported in collisions with speeds as low as 5 MPH.  This calls into question the significance between the degree of vehicle damage and degree of injury.  The laws of physics dictate that the patient will absorb the forces that are not absorbed from compression of the vehicle.  With respect to whiplash, the forces shear the cervical spine muscles, especially along the upper and lower regions.

Another factor that I face commonly with whiplash patients is if they have a preexisting arthritic condition in the cervical spine.  Arthritis decreases the flexibility and resiliency of the spine, as well as decreases the size of the holes where the nerves exit.  Having arthritis decreases patients’ ability to tolerate and disperse the traumatic forces, and therefore causes a greater injury.  As always, if the accident causes additional medical impairment or damage, it is the accident that is responsible.  In this instance, my treatment would be geared towards bringing the patient as close to pre-injury status as possible.

If you have any questions about my office and how I treat and handle whiplash injury patients, feel free to call. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Brian Ruggiero