Can I really get injured in a low speed accident?

Injuries from Low Impact Accidents

A low impact auto accident is generally defined as an incident that takes place at speeds less than 10 miles per hour (mph). This type of collision usually causes the least amount of damage to the vehicles involved. Body injuries can result from any accident and that includes ones that occur with vehicles going less than 10 mph. Soft tissue injuries are the most common problem for those involved in a low impact accident.
A motor vehicle accident that takes place at speeds between under 10 mph often brings about little visible damage to the cars involved. Sometimes due to the fact that minimal damage was done to vehicle the injuries to the people in the vehicles are overlooked. This does not mean that bodily injury did not occur to the passengers during the crash.
While an automobile is built to take a slow 5 to 10 mph crash that is not necessarily true for your body. In a low impact accident a person’s soft tissue can be damaged.The back and neck are the usual problem spots for soft tissue injuries. Soft tissue is basically a person’s ligaments, tendons and muscles. Soft tissue injuries are typically classified as contusions or bruises, sprains or strains. 
A contusion is an injury to the soft tissue caused by blunt force. This force produces pooling of blood around the injury causing discoloring of the skin. This is commonly is referred to as a bruise. Bruising can be found in different shapes and colors.
A sprain is an injury to a ligament often brought about by a wrench or twist. A sprain can be a simple sprain, a partial tear or a complete tear. This can happen to various parts of a person’s body during an accident. It is not uncommon for a person to twist in their seat as a vehicle strikes theirs during the incident.
A strain is an injury to the muscle or tendon caused by overuse, force or stretching. The force of the car crash can push on a person’s soft tissue or cause parts to stretch in an abnormal way.Muscles and tendons support your bones. A strain may cause a partial or complete tear in the muscle and tendon combination.
The neck of a car occupant can whip forward causing the most common rear impact injury known as whiplash. General Motors (GM) did a study regarding crashes at speeds below eight mph. GM found, to no surprise, that injuries do occur at such low speeds. The study also showed that whiplash injuries account for more than half of all injuries connected to vehicular accidents. 
Although these types of injuries are characteristically classified as minor nearly 30 percent of those hurt in low speed collisions have reported having neck pain up to three years later. This injury is likely to be worse in those that experienced a rear end collision. Depending on the age of the person this injury could cause a permanent disability.
A motor vehicle can take the force of a low speed collision without showing much damage due to the advances car manufacturers have made in the construction of their vehicles. When a collision does occur the force of the accident pushes inertia somewhere and once the automobile has taken part of that energy away the occupants take the rest. These forces are what can cause people bodily harm even in a crash of below 10 mph.Soft tissue injuries can occur to those involved in a low speed impact and though these injuries might be hard to see they exist. 

Why a Chiropractor Should Be On Your Car Accident Recovery Team

Anyone who has survived a car accident will tell you that the recovery process can be long and difficult.  There is paperwork, legal activities, not to mention the various medical situations that may arise.  For many, the road back to a full and healthy life can take a great deal of time to travel.

It is important as you travel on the road to full recovery that you have the expert help you need.  There are many people there to help you, family and friends, and the various professionals that you will work with to get your body in full health.  If the car accident has caused a neck injury or whiplash, a chiropractor can offer immense help during the recovery process.
Whiplash, as it is commonly called, is simply a neck sprain, or another type of injury to the neck area.  Specifically, damage occurs within the joints between the vertebrae, discs, ligaments, cervical muscles and possibly the nerve roots.  A sudden, abrupt jerking motion of the head causes the cause of these injuries, which is often experience during a car accident.
The symptoms that can develop over time, and sometimes can be delayed for 24 hours or more after the car accident.  In most cases, people who are suffering from whiplash can exhibit one or more of the following symptoms:

• Headaches 
• Pain in the shoulder, or between the shoulder blades 
• Neck pain and stiffness 
• Lower back pain 
• Pain or numbness in the arm and hand 
• Dizziness 
• Ringing in ears 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Fatigue 
• Irritability 

The symptoms of whiplash are truly varied, and some of them can be indicator of other conditions or diseases.  Therefore, a full diagnosis should be made by your chiropractor prior to the start of treatment.  In most cases, injuries like whiplash, which affect the soft tissues, will not be visible on standard X-rays.  Instead, specialized imaging tests, such as CT scans or magnetic resonance (MRI) is often used as a diagnostic tool.
Once whiplash is properly diagnosed by your chiropractor, effective treatment can begin. Perhaps one of the most effective means of treating whiplash is through chiropractic manipulation of the spinal column and neck area.  In fact, a study conducted by Woodward and others in 1996, and published in the industry magazine Injury indicated that nearly 93% of the patients studied were found to have a statistically significant improvement in pain and discomfort, and relative movement ability after chiropractic care.  Symptoms ranging from headaches to back pain, even related extremity pain in the arms and hand showed marked improvement over a short term of chiropractic care.
Time and time again, the experience of chiropractors and their patients have reflected these impressive results.  Many people suffering from the long-term effects of a car accident have used the skills of a qualified professional to find relief from their symptoms.
Given the available data, and the many cases of people finding relieve for their soft tissue injuries beyond what a normal doctor can do, is it any wonder why many people turn to chiropractors as a viable option for recovery?  It is our sincerest hope that you are never injured in a car accident.  However, if the unforeseen does occur, having a qualified chiropractor on your recovery team can make all the difference in the world.

Car Accidents and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

We have been providing treatment for whiplash for almost 10 years now. The scenario below is very common with whiplash trauma:
When you woke up today, you thought this was like any other Friday. You’re on your way to work, and traffic is flowing smoother than normal.  Suddenly, someone crashes into the back end of your car and you feel your head extend back over the headrest and then rebound forwards, almost hitting the steering wheel with your forehead. It all happened so fast. After a few minutes, you notice your neck and head starting to hurt in a way you’ve not previously felt.   When the police arrive and start asking questions about what had happened, you try to piece together what happened but you’re not quite sure of the sequence of events.  Your memory just isn’t that clear. Within the first few days, in addition to significant neck and headache pain, you notice your memory seems fuzzy, and you easily lose your train of thought. Everything seems like an effort and you notice you’re quite irritable. When your chiropractor asks you if you’ve felt any of these symptoms, you look at them and say, "…how did you know? I just thought I was having a bad day – I didn’t know whiplash could cause these symptoms!"
            Because these symptoms are often subtle and non-specific, it’s quite normal for patients not to complain about them. In fact, we almost always have to describe the symptoms and ask if any of these symptoms “sound familiar” to the patient.
            As pointed out above, patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) don’t mention any of the previously described symptoms and in fact, may be embarrassed to discuss these symptoms with their chiropractor or physician when they first present after a car crash.  This is because the symptoms are vague and hard to describe and, many feel the symptoms are caused by simply being tired or perhaps upset about the accident.  When directly asked if any of these symptoms exist, the patient is often surprised there is an actual reason for feeling this way.
The cause of MTBI is due to the brain actually bouncing or rebounding off the inner walls of the bony skull during the “whiplash” process, when the head is forced back and forth after the impact. During that process, the brain which is suspended inside our skull, is forced forwards and literally ricochets off the skull and damages some of the nerve cells most commonly of either the brain stem (the part connected to the spinal cord), the frontal lobe (the part behind the forehead) and/or the temporal lobe (the part of the brain located on the side of the head). Depending on the direction and degree of force generated by the collision (front end, side impact or rear end collision), the area of the brain that may be damaged varies as it could be the area closest to initial impact or, the area on the opposite side, due to the rebound effect. Depending on which part of the brain is injured, the physical findings may include problems with walking, balance, coordination, strength/endurance, as well as difficulties with communicating (“cognitive deficits”), processing information, memory, and altered psychological functions.
The good news is that most of these injuries will recover within 3-12 months but unfortunately, not all do and in these cases, the term, “post-concussive syndrome” is sometimes used.
We realize you have a choice in where you choose your health-care services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for whiplash, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

Facts about Whiplash

In whiplash research, many articles have been published that conflict or contradict each other. The goal of this blog post is to report the “facts” about whiplash.

• It is more common to have a delay in the onset of whiplash symptoms. Symptoms may start about two hours after the initial injury or it may take days, weeks, or months before you feel anything. 
• For whiplash caused by car accidents, the severity depends on the force of the impact, the way you were seated in your car, and if you were properly restrained using a shoulder and seat belt. 
• Tests show the soft tissues in your neck sustain injury at a threshold of 5 mph. That means if you're rear-ended at 5 mph or slower, you have a lower chance of getting whiplash. However, most rear-end car accidents happen at speeds of 6-12 mph. 
• If you've been in a car accident, it’s a good idea to be evaluated even if your car didn't get damaged and you don't feel any pain. 
• Although whiplash is most often associated with car accidents, you can also get whiplash from sports such as snowboarding, boxing, football and gymnastics.
• The concept of “no car damage = no injury” is COMPLETELY false. Most cars can withstand collisions of up to 10 MPH and as pointed out above, only in collisions < 5 MPH are you less likely to be injured. Collisions that occur between 6-12 MPH cause the highest percentage of whiplash injuries (which is below the threshold of car damage in most cases). Also, the energy of the impact is transferred to the contents inside the car when there is no vehicular damage (that means you).
• Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) can occur in motor vehicle collisions even if the head does not hit an object inside the car, although it’s more common when there is a head strike. The symptoms associated with MTBI are often referred to as “Post Concussive Syndrome.”
• Approximately 10% of whiplash injured patients become totally disabled. 
• Of the studies published since 1995, over 60% of whiplash patients required long-term medical care.
• Risk factors for long-term symptoms associated with WAD include: rear impacts, loss of the cervical lordosis curve, pre-existing degenerative arthritis, use of seat belts & shoulder harness (low speed impacts only), poor head restraint position or shape, non-awareness of the impending collision, female (especially long slender neck), head rotation at impact.