Whiplash – Getting Well Naturally

You’re driving to work and stop for a red light. You’re minding your own business and – bam! – your car rocks forward and backward, slammed in the rear by another car driven by some guy yakking on his cell phone. Or you’re a passenger in a New York City taxi. The driver’s cruising down Fifth Avenue when a teenager suddenly dashes into the intersection, running across the street against the light. The cabbie slams on the brakes and your head rocks forcefully backward and forward.

Or for reasons known only to yourself you decide it’s a good idea to go bungee jumping. You dive into space, the cord extends, and finally the cord is fully played out. Significant physical forces blast through your body as you helplessly bounce back and forth, dangling in the air like a gaffed flying fish.
The result of each of these demonstrations of Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion? Later that day, or possibly within several days, you begin to experience neck pain. You might also have shoulder pain, headache, nausea, dizziness, and pain or numbness traveling down one or both arms. You have whiplash – a traumatic injury to the muscles, ligaments, and spinal joints of your neck and upper back.^1,2

If you’re lucky you’ll get better in a few days. If the injuries are moderate or severe the various complaints will linger and may even get worse. As with any injury or illness, if you’re not getting better right away you need to see your doctor. As you’ve suffered an injury to your head and neck, it may be a good idea to see your doctor as soon as you can, in any case, even if you think the injury is mild.

Your chiropractor is an excellent choice for examination and evaluation of injuries due to whiplash. he or she will be able to determine the nature and extent of the damage to muscle, ligament, and bone. Taking an x-ray series is a very important part of the evaluation of whiplash, as even seemingly modest forces can result in fracture of one or more vertebras in your neck. Evaluation of nerve function, including both spinal nerves and cranial nerves, is critically important. Pain and/or numbness radiating into one or both arms suggests injury to a cervical nerve root and needs to be thoroughly assessed.

If no fractures have been identified, chiropractic treatment can begin immediately. Over time, chiropractic treatment helps reduce inflammation of injured muscles and ligaments. Over time, chiropractic treatment helps restore normal ranges of motion to your neck and upper back. With this natural form of healing you begin to make incremental, steady progress, recovering the ability to participate in all your daily activities with reduced levels of pain and discomfort. Our office specializes in treating victims of whiplash and will handle all claims for you. Your job is to get well, ours is to help you heal normally and prevent future exacerbations. DO NOT settle your claim before you are checked out for any hidden injuries that may not “go away” with rest or typically worsen with time.

Chiropractic treatment provides optimal therapy for whiplash injuries, allowing your body to recover and return to normal by utilizing its own restorative powers.³ 

¹Kasch H, et al: Clinical assessment of prognostic factors for long-term pain and handicap after whiplash injury: a 1-year prospective study. Eur J Neurol 15(11):1222-1230, 2008
²Chen HB, et al: Biomechanics of whiplash injury. Chin J Traumatol 12(5):305-314, 2009
³Michaleff ZA, et al: A randomised clinical trial of a comprehensive exercise program for chronic whiplash: trial protocol. BMC Musculoskeletal Disord 10:149, 2009 (12/2/09)

Neck Pain Exercises

Suffer from Neck Pain? 

Exercises for the Neck

Neck pain is often caused by weak muscles in the front and tight, overactive muscles in the back of the neck. Doing daily strengthening and stretching exercises can be helpful in preventing neck pain. Try the following exercises: Lie flat on your back. Tuck your chin to chest and raise your head no more than an inch off the floor or bed. Hold this position until your muscles are tired (they may shake). Do this exercise three times, once or twice per day. In a standing or sitting position, with your neck erect and tall, keep your chin level and jut your head forward. Then, drop your chin to your neck. Place your hands on the back of your head to gently encourage a stretch of the muscles at the back of the neck. Hold this position for several seconds. Do this exercise three to fives times, as much as once an hour, every day. Looking straight ahead, tilt your head to one shoulder.With the same-side hand, gently pull your head toward your shoulder. Hold the stretch for several seconds. Repeat on the opposite side. Do this exercise three to five times on each side, as often as once an hour, every day. If pain persists for more than 24 hours, call us at (919)845-0200 to schedule a consultation and examination.

Do you suffer from neck pain? If you do, you’re not alone. Nearly 75 percent of American adults will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. And, looking at our anatomy, it’s no

Suffer From Neck Pain?

Do you suffer from neck pain? If you do, you’re not alone. Nearly 75 percent of American adults will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. And, looking at our anatomy, it’s no wonder so many of us do. Though having your head perched on top of your spine gives you a great view of your environment, the set-up is rather like propping a bowling ball atop a tower of blocks. The price? Our necks are prone to injury of the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. But by paying attention to our posture, doing regular stretching and strengthening exercises, and visiting our chiropractors, we can help keep our necks pain-free.

Causes of Neck Pain

Neck pain ranges from mild (annoying and distracting) to severe (incapacitating). Poor posture during normal, everyday activities such as watching TV, using a computer, reading a book, or talking on the phone can easily trigger minor neck pain. TV watching can be particularly bad for the neck if you’re lying on a couch, with your head propped at an awkward angle for a prolonged period of time. Holding the phone between the jaw and shoulder (rather than in your hand), reading at a desk or table with your head hung over a book, or working with a computer monitor below eye level can also be particularly stressful for the neck. By resting and making efforts not to repeat the offending stresses on the neck, minor neck pain usually disappears on its own within a day or so.

Neck pain that won’t go away or keeps coming back can signal a more serious underlying problem. Subluxations or joint restrictions; injuries such as whiplash; diseases like osteoarthritis, meningitis and tumors; congenital malformation; and degeneration (such as that in arthritis) require more than rest. A trained healthcare professional such as a doctor of chiropractic (DC) can help. He or she can determine whether the cause of your neck pain is minor and easily treatable or more serious and requiring more intensive, extended treatment. Then he or she may recommend chiropractic adjustment, massage, natural anti-inflammatory supplements, and/or strengthening and stretching exercises. In some cases, the DC will refer you to a specialist.

Prevention is Key

How can you avoid the need for treatment in the first place? The first step is to take note of your everyday posture. If your job requires a lot of phone use, consider wearing a headset. Do you slouch when you watch TV? Lie on the couch? Choose to sit upright, in a posture-supporting chair. When studying or reading, avoid putting the book or magazine on a flat surface. Instead, consider using a book prop. And, if you notice your computer monitor is below eye level, elevate it by placing it on top of a shelf or tower.

If you experience neck pain that doesn’t abate within 24 hours, seek the advice of a trained healthcare specialist for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. And remember, because chiropractors specialize in the neuromusculoskeletal system, they are some of the most well-trained healthcare professionals to consult about neck pain. So, if you are having pain, call us before 4 pm and we will see you that same day! 845-0200

This Harmful Food Product is Changing its Name – Don’t Get Swindled

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has petitioned the U.S. FDA to allow manufacturers the option of using the term “corn sugar” instead of “high fructose corn syrup”.

In their press release on the subject, they claim that “independent research demonstrates that the current labeling is confusing to American consumers.”

They blame “inexact scientific reports and inaccurate media accounts” for the current stigma associated with high fructose corn syrup.

In reality, as opposed to the CRA’s dream world, if you need to lose weight, or if you want to avoid diabetes and heart disease, high-fructose corn syrup is one type of sugar you’ll want to avoid.

Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar.

Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and lead author of a recent study on fructose in the Journal of Nutrition:

“Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. Once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down. The bottom line of this study is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body.”It is also this uncontrolled movement of fructose through these metabolic pathways that causes it to contribute to greater triglyceride [i.e. fat] synthesis. There are over 35 years of hard empirical evidence that refined man-made fructose like HFCS metabolizes to triglycerides and adipose tissue, not blood glucose.

Ergonomics for Mouse-Intensive Jobs

Workers such as architects, graphic designers, animators and computer-aided design (CAD) users spend countless hours in front of computers barely ever changing position. Does this sound familiar?  If your job keeps you planted at your desk all day consider the following factors to help prevent injuries:
Prevent forearm overuse – Find a mouse that fits your hand, and then slide your palm up to rest on the mouse and use your whole arm to move the mouse when possible. If you rest your wrist on the desk for extended periods, consider using a soft gel pad to minimize pressure on the carpal tunnel. The best solution is to invest in a graphic tablet that will allow you to use a digital pen with a more relaxed and neutral position of the fingers, hand, wrist and forearm.
Prevent neck pain – You should be able to use your mouse with your elbow at your side and your hand directly in front of you. Try a keyboard that has a separate number pad or one that is on the left of the keyboard, which frees up space on the right for the mouse.
Choose a specialty chair – Recently, more chairs have been designed with a pear-shaped back, particularly with mouse-intensive users in mind. This type of chair supports the spine, but frees the scapula to move, encouraging whole-arm use rather than motion only from the wrist.

If problems continue to bother you, even after you have attempted to correct the ergonomics, call us for an evaluation.