Today in the United States, auto accidents are the number
one contributor to chronic and spinal pain. Out of the 6 million auto accidents
that take place in the U.S annually, about 3 million people suffer injuries.
The majority of these injuries are whiplash- type of injuries. Out of the 3
million injuries, about one million develop chronic pain.
Chiropractic care has proved time and again to be highly
effective as an intervention method or patients following auto accidents.
According to a journal of orthopedic medicine published in 1999, it was shown
that out of the superiority of chiropractic care for the patients who suffered
from long term effects of whiplash, 74 to 93 percent of the patients with
chronic whiplash were likely to benefit from chiropractic care. Many
professionals also agree that chiropractic care would be highly beneficial
particularly following an accident of any sort
Auto
mobile accidents in California
The state of California has been ranked as the most
dangerous state for road users with regard to automobile accidents in the
United States. In 2009, the state saw 3071 fatalities of traffic in 2816 fatal
accidents. It has also been shown that road accidents in California are the
leading causes of accidental deaths for those under the age of 34. One of the
roads in the stat has also been ranked as one of the most dangerous roads in
the world.
A majority of accidents involve the single vehicle with
drivers under the influence of alcohol. In 2009, 30 percent (856) of the
accidents in California were fueled by the problem of driving under the
influence of alcohol.
Injuries
related to vehicle accidents
According to the national highway traffic safety
administration report, about 5,500,000 Americans experienced injuries related
to motor vehicle crashes in 1995. In 1999, an estimated 6,289,000 car accidents
were reported with about 3.4 million injuries and 41, 345 deaths in auto
accidents. According to studies, it was also shown that there is a three times
increased probability of developing neck pains for those injured in motor
vehicle crash 7 years later, where 39 percent of those injured in rear end
motor vehicle tend to experience chronic pain 7 years after the accident.
Following the accident, the soft tissues tend to experience
the primary injury. The initial injury also results in increased flexibility of
the injured joints. These injuries can not be identified using the available
imaging methods, and can result in a good percentage of those with chronic
symptoms, which become chronic with time due to clinical instability.
Injuries to the soft tissues of the neck as a result of
motor vehicle crash are on the rise in north America. These can lead to
substantial levels of disablement, even following rear- end collisions that may
appear innocuous at the period of the crash. Whiplash, which is an injury to
the neck may result to physical and psychological problems for victims as well
as financial burdens.
Injuries to the spine bring about a cycle of degeneration
that result in nerve damage. According to research, permanent scar tissues form
if left uncorrected. These damages may begin within two weeks following the
accident.
In 2 to 3 months, 75 percent of the patients with whiplash
injuries heal spontaneously. However, these are patients who sustained minor
injuries to their ligaments and muscles, but none to their zygophyseal or disc
joints. 10 percent of patients with
whiplash were shown to develop constant severe indefinite neck pains while 1
percent of those in the entire population experience chronic neck pains as a result
of whiplash injuries and 0.4 percent have severe neck pains.
About 25 percent of patients with whiplash injuries, who
injured their zygapophyseal joints, alar ligaments or intervertebral discs
progress to chronic symptoms.
Following a period of two years (follow up)
o
44 percent of patients, who initially presented
with only symptoms, had residual complaints,
o
81 percent of patients with initial symptoms and
physical findings were symptomatic,
o
90 percent of those with neurologic involvement
were symptomatic,
Women, who are most vulnerable in automobile accident, are
likely to suffer long consequences from injuries.
Rear
end collisions
Extension acceleration whiplash injuries are most likely to
occur as a result of rear end collisions, and are considered to result in the
greatest damage.
Head rotations at the moment of impact result in increased
injuries on the both sides the head turned.
The lack of awareness (being caught unaware) before the
impact aggravates the prognosis. Moreover, the injury would be compounded by
the presence of a degenerative disc disease of the spine or degenerative
diseases of the disc (s) where tissues tend to become inelastic an easily torn
in advanced age.
Chiropractic
According to a good number of studies, the overuse of pain
pills has been linked to kidney failure. Drug business has also become one of
the most profitable business in the united states of America, where 50 percent
of the drugs in the world are consumed in the U.S.
As an alternative, chiropractic has proved to be a much
reliable method with no side effects or negative effects to the body. This
method is based on two reality facts, these being;
o
That the body is a self regulating, self-
healing organism,
o
That the nervous system is the master system and
controller of the body,
93 percent of patients improved following chiropractic
treatment. From the retrospective study, the results suggest that positive
results can occur in well above 90 percent of patients undergoing this form of
treatment for chronic `whiplash’ injury'. According to another retrospective
study from the journal injury (1996), it was shown that 26 out of 28 patients
(93 percent) who suffered from chronic whiplash syndrome benefited from
chiropractic treatment.
This was also supported by a controlled experiment and
clinical trials, which gave evidence that early and controlled mobilization
tends to be superior to immobilization for musculoskeletal soft tissue
injuries.
Chiropractic
adjustments
The controlled movement allows the injured tissue to heal
quicker and better. These movements improve fluid exchange of the disc and
synovial fluid thus reducing pain and joint degeneration. Simply stated, the
controlled movements initiate a neurological sequence of events that result in
the inhibition of pain.
References
Conlin a, bhogal s, sequeira k, teasell r (2005).
"treatment of whiplash-associated disorders--part i: non-invasive
interventions". Pain res manag 10 (1): 21–32. Pmid 15782244.
hurwitz el, carragee
ej, van der velde g et al. (2008). "treatment of neck pain: noninvasive
interventions: results of the bone and joint decade 2000–2010 task force on
neck pain and its associated disorders". Spine 33 (4 suppl): s123–52.
villanueva-russell y
(february 2005). "evidence-based medicine and its implications for the profession
of chiropractic". Soc sci med 60 (3): 545–61.
U.s. national highway traffic safety administration, traffic
safety facts, annual. See also <http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot
.gov/cats/index.aspx>.
Links
Http://www.ots.ca.gov/media_and_research/data_and_statistics.asp
