Don’t let whiplash injury get you down.  Whiplash can be devastating.  The pain and stiffness associated with even minor accidents can be quite disabling.  If you have had an automobile accident and need help.  Contact us now @ 210-490-9169.  We can help.  Gentle, powerful help is just around the corner!

Pain in the neck, head, shoulders or upper back, resulting from a motor vehicle crash is known as, “whiplash“. While many other injuries, such as low back, mid back or extremity injuries occur, whiplash is probably the most common motor vehicle injury. It usually results from rear-end collisions and can be extremely debilitating, even when the accident occurs at low speed. It is an ironic fact that vehicle safety equipment, designed to protect both the vehicle and the occupant from serious injury, often contribute to musculoskeletal injuries such as whiplash.

In their position as musculoskeletal specialists, chiropractors are uniquely qualified to deal with most motor vehicle injuries. Their training in the treatment and rehabilitation of soft tissue injuries is second to none and studies now show that chiropractic treatment is superior to other types of treatment for whiplash and other musculoskeletal injuries.

At San Pedro N. Chiropractic Center our doctors of chiropractic, Dr. Doreen Lewis-Overton has years of training and experience in not only the treatment of automobile related injuries, but also in the chiropractic/legal aspects of your case and dealing with insurance companies. Dr. Lewis is a graduate of the prestigious Spine Research Institute of San Diego (SRISD), a private research organization dedicated to gathering and disseminating motor vehicle crash information, as well as information on other types of trauma. As such, she has access to hundreds of pages of current research material that is useful in helping you settle your case.

If you have been involved in a motor vehicle crash and are looking for gentle treatment, powerful results and the expertise and experience you need to help settle your case, look no further. The doctors at San Pedro N. Chiropractic Center are here to help you.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

No matter what you call it, auto accident, car crash, motor vehicle crash, road traffic collision, traffic accident, or anything else, it usually involves a vehicle of some type, colliding with another vehicle or object. The resulting damage to person and property can be minor, or devastating. And, the severity of the property damage may have little to do with the severity of the injuries of those involved. To illustrate what we mean, please see the, “Motor Vehicle Crash, Myth vs. Fact”, section of our website.

Here is some information to ponder regarding motor vehicle crashes in Texas, from calendar year 2009.

  • 59,164 serious injury crashes
  • Vehicle miles traveled, over 230 billion
  • 1685 deaths in rural areas
  • Single vehicle deaths, 1227
  • 696 people killed in intersections or related to an intersection
  • 505 people killed in head-on crashes
  • No deathless days in Texas
  • One person killed every two hours 50 min.
  • One person injured every 2 min. 14 seconds
  • One reportable crash every 74 seconds
  • 235,280 persons injured
  • 956 people killed were under the influence of alcohol

The variety of motor vehicle crashes, including the variables of driver position, driver health, seat belt use, airbag deployment, headrest position, speed or change in direction and many others, make every incident a unique occurrence. There is, therefore, no accurate way to equate the severity of any injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash, to a specific variable, such as speed. For example, many insurance companies would have you believe that since there may be little to no damage to your vehicle, that you could not be injured. This is simply not true. Again, please see our, “Motor Vehicle Crash, Myth vs. Fact”, section for some surprising facts.

Myths vs Facts

Myth:  My car wasn’t damaged so I could not be injured.

Fact:  Realistically, a person stands about a 50:50 chance of being injured in a low speed, rear impact crash (LOSRIC) of 5 mph.  Research has shown that bumper protectors, which are fluid and gas filled shock absorbers designed to prevent vehicle damage, have a threshold for visible damage of over 12 mph in modern cars.  So, if you can be hurt at, or below, 5 mph and modern bumpers protect the car from damage to more than 12 mph, do you think you might get hurt while your vehicle remains undamaged?  Of course you can!

For those who are injured, there is about a 50:50 chance for complete recovery. For those who are injured and have risk factors for poor outcome (like age, gender and fitness factors), the chances of poor outcome are greater. Assessing this is the job of an experienced, informed, and intuitive clinician.

Myth: Everyone gets better after a few weeks or months, even without treatment.

Fact: This is what many insurance companies try to pass off as fact.  It lets them off the hook, after a few weeks.  Don’t buy it!  It could not be further from the truth.  There is no scientifically based literature that supports this notion.  There is, in fact, a great deal of literature that supports just the opposite premise.  That is, that many people are likely to have problems which are chronic and may last for years, or even indefinitely, if they do not receive proper care.

Myth: I felt OK after the crash, so I must not have been hurt.

Fact: Delay in onset of symptoms is extremely common and is well documented in the literature. Generally speaking, the more severe lesions are symptomatic very soon after trauma. However, delays of up to several months are not uncommon for some disorders, and they may be quite disabling.

Myth: Impact at a higher velocity is worse than an impact at a lower velocity.

Fact: This intuitive statement may not be correct at all.  This is due to a concept that is known as ride down.  Ride down is provided by the give in the materials around the occupant of the vehicle.  For example, the give in the fender or hood as it crumples at impact, the elasticity of the seat belt, the padding of the dashboard, etc.  The effects of ride down are limited in low speed, rear impact crashes (LOSRIC) because there is very little vehicle crush–they are quite stiff at low speeds. One could argue that the seat back provides a degree of ride down, but only in the case that the seat back is permanently deformed or broken. If it is not, it may act as a spring and have just the opposite effect.

Injury risk rises as speed increases and seems to peak at 15-20 mph.  It is interesting that the risk begins to decrease again at 20-25 mph.  That’s ride down!  There is, obviously, a limit to the benefit of ride down.  High speed motor vehicle crashes can be devastating and deadly.