Whiplash Facts Explained

There’s lots to know about whiplash but it is a non-medical term but this condition encompasses a range of injuries. It is a condition we see very often and treat in our Las Vegas clinics. Injuries associated with whiplash usually affect the neck area and arise from sudden forward movement of the neck leading to the forceful or extension backward bending. Cervical acceleration deceleration (CACD) can be a good term to explain what happens when a car accident occurs accurately as well as the term whiplash associated disorders (WAD) would help to explain and expound on injuries residual symptoms and signs.
CAD and WAD are terms which are associated with motor vehicles collision most of the time, especially when a vehicle is struck from behind. Other causes which are less common include: falls from a ladder or stool, dancing (especially head banging), horse related injuries, bicycle related injuries, and much more. More than five hundred thousand individuals made an insurance claim for WAD in the UK in 2007, which is about fourteen percent of every driver’s premium. In the US there are over one million WAD cases due to car accidents annually.
WAD was used to be referred to as railroad before the advent of the automobile (this is because it usually resulted from a train crash), it was first documented in 1919. WAD was also very common in pilots due to the sudden deceleration that occurs when the aircraft is landing with instant braking. When we talk about whiplash everyone tends to think about speeding car crash.
The neck has seven vertebrae, the 8 pair of nerves, the 6 disks, ligaments, the muscles, and the other soft tissues. There are stages of injuries or phases (initial phase, retraction phase, extension and rebound phase), which all happen within 300 msec. whereas, to voluntarily contract a muscle it takes only 800 msec. This means that you cannot prepare to hold the impact fully. This is why it is important to visit a car accident treatment center. According to car accident chiropractor factors that highly influence the injuries are the headrest position, the back angle of the seat, the occupants, the seat back rebound, the direction at which the head is positioned during impact, the size of vehicles involved and more. These factors and others make it challenging to reconstruct an MVC accurately on paper.
The most common symptoms of WAD that individuals experience include headache, upper back and neck pain, referred pain down an arm or into the mid-back and sometimes legs. The symptoms can start immediately or delay for some days. Risk factors that might worsen the prognosis of this case are the failure to respond to initial treatment, radiating pain from the neck, being placed in a cervical collar (chiropractic care where you can’t be exercised or mobilized). The main key thing about WAD is to get treatment as soon as possible when it is noticed, do not restrict yourself to chiropractic care at all. Not unless you have a fracture that is unstable, otherwise do your exercises as usual.
We understand everyone has a choice when it comes to selecting healthcare services provider, especially when it comes to choosing a car accident doctor. There is also a lot more to know about whiplash that we may be able to answer for you. If a friend, a relative or yourself requires whiplash care, Southern Nevada Chiropractic will be there for you. We appreciate the confidence and trust for choosing our services and we are looking forward to serving you and your family in future. We have several clinics in the Las Vegas area, all conveniently located for you.