If you have been involved in an accident one of the most frequent problems that can occur is neck pain. Why is the neck so vulnerable ? Well first off, I would presume everyone is wearing a seatbelt. Seatbelts save lives but it is also a product liability. It helps in one way, but damages in another. The benefit outweighs the risk. So, your neck is not secured down. It is attached to your head which averages 11 pounds. When you are struck in an accident, if you want to know what the lessor of two evils is, you would much rather be struck from the front or behind. Getting struck from the side, or at an angle is in direct opposition to the joint alignment of your neck. Your neck moves in several ranges of motion, flexion ( touching your chin to your chest), extension (looking at the sky), right and left rotation (looking over your shoulder) and right and left lateral flexion( touching your ear to your shoulder). Because of the amount of movement within these ranges, you have a greater chance of injury. Also if there is underlying damage to the neck like arthritis, disc degeneration, disc bulging and ligament laxity(looseness), this will predispose an auto accident victim to more damage at less impact. So there are many reasons why your neck gets damaged more in trauma then other partys of your body.
Not everybody gets symptoms right away after an accident. Sometimes in takes days, weeks or even months before symptoms occur. Symptoms vary and may manifest as headaches, neck pain, radiating pain into the arms, shoulders and hands, jaw pain, muscle weakness and decreased sensation ( light touch, sharp/dull sensations).
What is someone who has been injured in an accident to do ? Let's just say in this scenario, someone was rear ended at a stoplight. The damage to the car was small, the driver that was struck didn't have pain. So the involved parties exchanged insurance information and went on their way. Days later, the person who was struck at a stop starts to experience headaches and numbness in the right hand. Well, this person needs to find themselves a trauma trained chiropractor. You can find one here: US Chiropractic Directory - US Chiropractic Directory (uschirodirectory.com).
Trauma trained chiropractors correlate causality to bodily injury, and bodily injury to functional loss. We do this by have a correct diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan specific for the patients condition. There will be many questions regarding the accident, a physical exam which consists of range of motion, orthopedic testing, neurological testing, x-rays, maybe MRI, CT scan, etc. We utilize these to understand what is going on with the patient at the highest level. There is no time to waste !
If you have been in an accident and are experiencing neck pain, back pain, headaches, whiplash, jaw pain, spinal stenosis, disc herniations, disc bulges and are in the Chicagoland area like Melrose Park, Elmhurst, Berkeley, Stone Park, Oak Brook, Bensenville, Maywood, Villa Park, Lombard or Downers Grove, call the Auto Accident pain Relief Center of Illinois 24/7 at 800-862-5914.
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