Peeling the Onion

In the language of statistics, health is a continuous variable. A person's health can be expressed as an infinity of values ranging from abundant well-being to terminal states approaching death. If health were a discrete quantity you could assign a number to it. You could say that someone had 95% health or 32% health. You'd be able to measure health on an exact scale. But of course health is much more complex. Health status requires intermediate descriptive states for a more complete understanding of a person's level of wellness.

The practical outcome is that health is an expression of many factors, not merely one kind of activity. A person who has an extraordinarily healthy diet but has very high levels of stress may still suffer from cardiovascular disease, regardless of the amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and fresh fruits and vegetables he consumes.¹ A person may be a champion athlete, such as a ballet dancer or a figure skater, and yet have type 2 diabetes owing to a lifetime of unhealthy nutrition.²

There are many such cautionary tales, including that of a famous runner, author, and fitness expert who died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Like an archeological dig, good health has many layers. It's always a mistake to stop digging (even though you think you completely understand a process), because a little more effort and a little more thought will reveal new patterns and new connections. This is the major problem with medications. You take a drug to stimulate one thing or inhibit another thing, but there always more layers to consider. Side effects result from trying to manipulate one layer of effects while ignoring the consequences to other important layers.

Statins are a good example of this process of failing to consider the layers of health. These drugs lower blood cholesterol levels by inhibiting the production of a liver enzyme that is part of the pathway of cholesterol synthesis. But statins have many side effects, including Lou Gehrig's disease, memory loss, liver damage, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle pain.³

In contrast, chiropractic care is designed to pay attention to all the layers. Chiropractic care, in fact, is a layer-optimization process. By restoring full functioning of a person's nerve system and improving the mechanical functioning of the musculoskeletal system, chiropractic care enables the body's layers of health to interact in the way they were designed to interact. Chiropractic care is a natural, efficient method of restoring and maintaining good health.

¹Knoepfli-Lenzin C, et al: Effects of a 12-week intervention period with football and running for habitually active men with mild hypertension. Scand J Med Sci Sports Feb 2, 2010 (Epub)
²Fuemmeler BF, et al: Weight, dietary behavior, and physical activity in childhood and adolescence. Implications for adult cancer risk. Obes Facts 2(3):179-186, 2009
³Sharma M, et al: Systematic review: comparative effectiveness and harms of combination therapy and monotherapy for dyslipidemia. Ann Intern Med 151(9):622-630, 2009

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Built to Last

Just like the well-known, best-selling American truck, your body is built to last. But if it's built to last, why do so many people have serious problems with their bodies? If a human body is built to last, why does it seem to break down so easily?


The pharmaceutical industry earns billions of dollars each year, profiting from the tendency of so many people to suffer from debilitating disease. For example, osteoporosis affects more than 10 million women in the United States. The disorder involves loss of bone mass and may lead to fractures of the hip and lumbar vertebras, both of which may have severe consequences. In June 2010 a new drug was approved by the FDA to help prevent such fractures in postmenopausal women.

It is estimated that 55% of all Americans older than age 50 either have low bone mass or have lost sufficient bone mass to have received a diagnosis of osteoporosis.1 But if our bodies are built to last, why is the prevalence of osteoporosis so high? It doesn't make sense that our internal systems are simply designed to fail.

It is much more likely that our bodies are designed to withstand a tremendous amount of wear and tear. Human bodies are self-healing, self-renewing, and self-replicating machines. A human cell's most basic survival systems are based on deep complexity. Yet once a woman reaches menopause she joins a group of individuals at risk for losing a significant amount of bone mass and developing osteoporosis. What is wrong with this picture?

The hidden factors, revealed only upon close analysis and understanding, relate to lifestyle - what it is that we're doing with our bodies. If your driving style consists of flooring the accelerator and alternately slamming on the brakes, you'll quickly burn out the brake lines and ruin the tires of your fine built-to-last truck. If you rarely change the oil and oil filter your truck's performance will seriously degrade. If you ignore traffic signals and highway signs you'll probably crash your vehicle.

Defective care and maintenance and dangerous driving will drastically shorten the useful lifespan of your truck. The truck may be built-to-last but you've effectively voided the warranty. The day will quickly come, much sooner than anticipated, that you'll be forced to junk your truck.

This extended metaphor is exactly analogous to how we live our lives. Much recent research demonstrates that lifestyle is responsible for a large proportion of all cases of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. For example, 82% of coronary deaths in women may be related to individual health behaviors.2 The main strategy to prevent loss of bone mass and osteoporosis is to engage in regular vigorous, weight-bearing exercise.3

From a broader perspective, the main strategy to preventing disease in general is to eat a healthy, diverse diet, do vigorous exercise regularly, get sufficient rest, and ongoingly engage in rewarding, fulfilling activities with family and friends. Our bodies are built to last. How long they last, to a large extent, is up to us.


1National Osteoporosis Foundation - http://www.nof.org/advocacy/prevalence/

2Aldana SC: The Culprit and the Cure. Mapleton, UT, Maple Mountain Press, 2005, p 52

3Dionyssiotis Y, et al: Association of physical exercise and calcium intake with bone mass measured by quantitative ultrasound. BMC Women's Health 7:10-12, 2010

Why do I hurt when the weather changes?

Do you ever get a headache when it rains? Achy back or neck when clouds move in, joint pain with a cold front? Would you like to know why it happens? or if we could help it or even stop it from returning? Would you want help? This is a common question we hear in our chiropractic office.

Your body is designed to heal itself, if that is true - then why do these re-occurring weather related pains make you suffer? The truth is your body is internally programed to heal, and it will ALWAYS heal the best that it can based upon your functional operating basis. So, if you are fuctioning in a mannor which promotes healing, then you will heal correctly; but, if you are functioning in a mannor which interfers with healing - then you will heal incorrectly. Make no mistake YOU WILL hEAL! Either correctly, or incorrectly.

Let me give you an example.  Let's say you broke your arm. You go to the Emergency Room, they line it up, place an unmovable cast on your arm, and in 6 weeks remove the cast, and you have correctly healed!  Scenario number 2 - you break your arm, but don't get it lied up, you do not get an unmovable cast and 10-12 weeks later - your arm has healed, wrong!  So, why did it heal correctly in the first incidence, but incorrectly in scenario number 2...  The answer is the Functional Operating basis.

The first Functional Operating basis is correct alignment with no motion - in other words - you are duplicating the normal function of a bone by having it lined up and immobile. Therefore normal healing.  In the second scenario - the Functional Operating basis is a misaligned arm with abnormal movement. So it heals, misaligned and abnormal, or WRONG.

Now, strains of muscles and sprains of ligaments supporting joints are functionally different from bones in that while bones are not designed to move at the middle, joints and muscles are functionally designed to move...but if you injure a muscle or joint it will inadvertently be stretched beyond it's elastic limits, and frequently will be misaligned. With this type injury, your body attempts to begin the healing process by spasm and this prevents motion. 

So now your muscle and joint is misaligned and moving incorrectly. In other words the Functional Operating basis is NOT normal.  Scenario one is you take an ani-inflamatory and the pain improves, the joint and muscle is still a little stiff, but after 6-8 weeks you get on with your daily routine - Your body has healed, WRONG. The sensitivity, lack of motion and re-occurring inflamation is locked in an ongoing cycle which makes the muscle and joint work harder, use too much energy and keeps staying irritated.

Eventually, to conserve energy - which is an Normal Functional Opreating basis of your body - your body facilitates the nerve signal which keeps the muscle tight and the joint from moving correctly.  Your body will heal the way that it is.  Always! So if it is functioning normal - your body will heal normal; but, if it is functioning abnormal, then it will heal abnormal.  Healing follows function. So in this scenario with poor Funtional Operating basis, your body heals poorly.

It is this facilitation response that makes your body hurt worse during weather changes. The "cookie" your body deposits that causes the super-sensitivity is well reasearched, and is a leading cause of chronic pain like in fibromyalgia.

So if this "Wrong" healing has occurred from an interference in the correct natural healing process, then what can be done to insure it heals correctly?  Another question would be: "is my body able to heal correctly?"  These are questions that require an answer.  The truth is: Your body will ALWAYS heal, but it can only heal based on how it is functioning. So a better question would be: "What is required to have my body function better, so it can heal correctly?"

I'll answer that with another series of questions > What controls function? What is damaged?  How do you improve the Functional Operating basis?

Now we are getting to the root of the problem!

Chropractic and Allergies

Do you ever suffer from seasonal allergies?  Have you ever wondered why one person gets a severe sinus drainage problem, but another person living in the same house does not?  Is it the allergen, or the reaction response of your body?

On May 7, 2009 a story was run on the ABC affiliate, KSPR out of Springfield Missouri, which featured help for allergies through chiropractic. In this story Jami Lynn Lilly was an allergy sufferer who always had problems during the spring in Missouri. Her allergies would give her sinus problems and cause her eyes to water. She commented, "I get really bad sinus infections, for weeks I just look like I'm bawling all the time"


Jami finally decided to go to a chiropractor for her problem. After her first visit she reported improvement. She described the experience by saying, "He adjusted me one time for it, two three days my nose just drained and then I was fine after that."

Jami's chiropractor, Dr. Baca, was also interviewed in the news story and he raised an interesting question. "If there's an allergy floating around out there what makes one person susceptible to it, when it doesn't make all of us susceptible." He then explained that the nervous system is the key. He stated, "Your nervous system controls every aspect of your body, including your immune system."

The story noted that the nervous system is the master controller of the body. The spine protects the spinal cord thus protecting the messages that are carried over the nervous system. According to the article, Dr. Baca explained that, "If one of the vertebrae on your spine is out of place it could be putting pressure or irritating one of your nerves. Maybe the nerve that controls your sinuses, your head, your throat or your immune system."

He further explained that this could be the reason why one person is susceptible to allergies while another in the same environment is not, "This person's immune system isn't functioning as well as this person's immune system so it can't fight the allergen off like it should."

Jami explained that she never knew that chiropractic could help her allergies. She said, "I never knew it; I just came because my neck was bothering me." The news story concludes by noting that. "Jami is a big believer now. She's allergy free and passing the word on about allergies and chiropractic."

Dr Wade operates Wade & Associates Chiropractic and Rehabiliation at 620 Quintard Dr Suite 201 in Oxford, AL. You can contact him at 256-237-9423 or via email: drwade@wadechiropractic.com.  You can find more information at http://www.wadechiropractic.com/.

Fibromyalgia Treatment

Fibromyalgia (fie-bro-my-AL-jee-uh), or FM, is a chronic pain illness that causes aches and tenderness in the muscles, as well as sleep problems, fatigue, and other symptoms. These symptoms often disrupt your daily activities. The pain usually occurs in the neck and shoulders, back, hands, and pelvis. FM patients experience several symptoms with varying intensities that come and go over time. Luckily, FM does not permanently damage the joints or muscles, but the pain associated with it can make having FM very difficult to live with.

Approximately 4 million Americans are suspected of having FM. It sometimes occurs in conjunction with other muscle or joint diseases, so determining how many people have fibromyalgia is difficult. FM is age and race blind, but a higher percentage of women have been diagnosed with the condition. The chances of getting this disorder increase with age. Often, people who have had a recent infectious disease (like Lyme’s disease) or have autoimmune disorders (like lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis) are more likely to be diagnosed with FM.

Fibromyalgia is associated with 18 specific tender points on the body that are painful when you press directly on them. Other symptoms include headaches, morning stiffness, difficulty concentrating, Raynaud's phenomenon (a circulatory problem affecting the small blood vessels of the skin), and irritable bowel syndrome . A nxiety and depression are also common in people with FM and may make symptoms worse. The exhaustion associated with FM is debilitating and interferes with even the simplest of daily activities.

Many fibromyalgia patients have a sleep disorder, which prevents them from getting restful and restorative sleep. While sleeping, scientist have reported periods of awakening brain activity, in patients with FM, that reduces the amount of “deep sleep”, which is important in repairing the body. As if that weren’t bad enough, FM patients can also experience headaches and migraines, restless legs syndrome, impaired memory and concentration, skin rashes, dry eyes and mouth, anxiety, depression, ringing in the ears, dizziness, vision problems, neurological symptoms, and impaired coordination.

The pain associated with FM has no limitations; it will migrate to any part of the body and vary in intensity level. It has been described as deep muscular aching, throbbing, twitching, stabbing, and shooting pain. Some patients experience numbness, tingling, and burning that add to the discomfort. The symptoms are often worse in the morning. You may also experience flares that are followed by periods where symptoms are dormant. Symptoms can get worse in cold and damp weather, with emotional stress, or if you overexert yourself. If you can't do certain activities because of pain, try doing it differently or don’t do it at all.

While the underlying cause is undetermined, most researchers agree that FM is a disorder of the Central Nervous System ( CNS). It may be related to oversensitive nerves or an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Whatever the cause, studies indicate that FM patients show increased levels of substance P, low levels of blood flow to the thalamus, low levels of serotonin and tryptophan, along with abnormalities in the immune system. Some studies show that genetic factors predispose you to being susceptible to FM; however, in a large percentage of patients, symptoms of FM have been triggered by an illness or injury. Scientist will continue to study the idea that FM is a defect in the CNS.

Chiropractic therapy is based on the theory that a person's health is determined by the status of the CNS and its relation to the spine and muscles, without the use of medication or surgery. The idea that spinal manipulation would alleviate the CNS abnormalities associated with FM stands to reason because spinal manipulation is used to relieve pressure and increase blood flow to specific nerves.

There is no specific test to determine if you have FM and is often diagnosed by ruling out other conditions. On average, it takes 5 years to be diagnosed with FM because the symptoms of other conditions can overlap. Your chiropractor will test the 18 specific tender points, study the patient’s history, and perform a physical exam. If you experience pain in 11 of the tender points and have widespread, debilitating pain throughout your body, you might have fibromyalgia.

Even though FM is hard to diagnose, there are prescribed fibromyalgia treatments. Unfortunately there is no cure, but as I mentioned earlier, fibromyalgia does not cause sustained damage to joints or muscles so continuous fibromyalgia treatment should alleviate the symptoms. A change in lifestyle is extremely important in improving the symptoms of FM. You should also have an empathetic physician who is informed about FM. Try exercising regularly, using hot and cold therapy, and changing your surroundings or taking medications to improve sleep. You can utilize counseling to reduce stress or try some relaxation therapies like yoga, acupuncture, or massage to help. Some doctors will recommend dietary or herbal supplements like SAM-e (the new alternative to St. John’s Wart).

The physician may prescribe non-narcotic pain relievers or a low dosage of antidepressants. If depression continues or worsens larger doses can be prescribed. More important is a regular program of gentle exercise and stretching, which helps maintain muscle tone and reduces pain and stiffness.

Implementing a healthy sleep regimen, which includes a concise and continuous sleep schedule, can obtain improved sleep, or by making sure that your environment is conducive to sleep. Make sure it is quiet, with a comfortable temperature, and a supportive bed. Avoid caffeine, sugar, and alcohol before bed. Do some light exercises during the day and avoid eating before bedtime, or you can practice relaxation exercises as you fall asleep.

You may find alternative therapies that can be helpful in relieving your symptoms. Remember that there is limited information about the effectiveness of these fibromyalgia treatments. If you do have FM and are thinking about trying an alternative therapy, get the facts before you begin.

Living with a chronic illness is an emotional challenge. The FM patient needs to develop a program that provides emotional support and open communication with friends and family. Counseling sessions with a professional may improve understanding about the illness and help build healthier relationships within the patient's family.

Due to the efforts of medical professionals, organizations, and support groups, the quality of life for patients living with FM is improving. Reduce stress or cancel stressful activities and you can reduce pain. Think about seeing a counselor if you are unable to deal with severe stress or need help finding ways to cope with stressful situations. With continued study, better ways to diagnose and treat FM are on their way. Even though symptoms vary in type, severity, and duration, most patients improve over time. Actively seek new information, talk to others who have FM, re-evaluate daily priorities, make lifestyle changes, and work hard to keep a positive attitude. And be sure to consult your Chiropractor!

Please Note: The information provided here is merely referential and informative. It is in no way a representation of professional medical advice and you should consult your chiropractor to determine any possible diagnosis and fibromyalgia treatment methods that you may require.

drwade@wadechiropractic.com

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The Natural World

Getting Healthy and Staying Healthy with Chiropractic Care

Nutritious food and regular exercise will only go so far if your nervous system is not working properly. Spinal nerve irritation can block the free flow of information between your brain and the rest of your body, interfering with healthy functioning and leading to a wide range of diseases.

Irritated nerves cause too many nerve signals or too few nerve signals to flow between the brain and the body. Information transfer is either speeded up or slowed down - either situation leads to a breakdown in communication and results in various disorders and diseases.

As Your chiropractor, I am a specialist in detecting and correcting spinal nerve irritation or nerve interference. Chiropractic adjustments help restore normal nerve transmission, helping restore optimal health and well-being.

The natural world functions very well on its own. Left to their own devices, members of the tens of millions of species on our planet thrive and prosper without relying on outside agencies.

In order to grow abundantly, plants consume carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients from the soil. Likewise, herbivorous animals consume plants whereas carnivorous animals consume other animals. Insects eat a wide variety of foods, including plants, fruit, other insects, detritus (dead leaves, stems, and twigs), and even blood. Many types of bacteria and fungi recycle decomposing matter. Whales, the top predator in the oceans, may consume more than a ton of plankton per day in addition to fish, squid, and other crustaceans.

Every member of every species excepting humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) obtains everything it needs from the environment. Modern humanity is the only species for which the abundance provided by the global ecosystem is insufficient.

For instance, mountain lions, raccoons, and coyotes don't need sleeping pills. But humans spend more than $1.5 billion per year on the sleep aid Ambien. Dolphins, antelope, and bluebirds don't have problems with blood glucose levels. In stark contrast, the annual cost of diabetes medications in the United States was $12.5 billion in 2007. In the wild, oak trees, tuna, and elephants don't need nutritional supplementation. Humans, however, spend more than $23 billion annually in the United States alone. What is wrong with this picture?

As a species, humans have the unprecedented ability to manipulate and drastically alter the world in which we live. Also aside from epidemic infectious disease, there exists no natural check on human population growth. As populations expand, resources become scarce. Populations flocking to urban enclaves not only leave behind the countryside but also local sources of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry. Canning, packaging, and transportation of food over long distances become necessary to supply the energy needs of cities. But only calories and not much else are obtained by these methods. Energy is provided but food quality is substantially reduced.

Chronic disease becomes widespread. Diabetes, cardiovascular disorders including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke, and obesity are all the direct result of a severely compromised food supply.1,2,3

Our disconnect from the natural world poses many additional challenges. Our bodies were designed to meet the demanding physical requirements of a hostile environment. But for the most part we don't do physical work anymore. If we don't find satisfactory substitutes for strenuous physical activity our musculoskeletal, metabolic, and endocrine systems easily deteriorate. The consequences include osteoporosis, chronic aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems, and anxiety and depression.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain good health when we're so far removed from the natural world. We need to make sure our diets are healthy and we need to get sufficient and regular strenuous exercise. The short- and long-term benefits include happiness, self-esteem, and ongoing well-being.

1Kesse-Guyot E, et al: Adherence to nutritional recommendations and subsequent cognitive performance: findings from the prospective Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals 2. Am J Clin Nutr Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

2Wolfe AR, et al: Dietary protein and protein-rich food in relation to severely depressed mood: A 10 year follow-up of a national cohort. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry Nov 22 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

3Pekmezi DW, Demark-Wahnefried W: Updated evidence in support of diet and exercise interventions in cancer survivors. Acta Oncol Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

Free Dinner

“WE Need Your HELP IMMEDIATELY!”

I’d like to ask you a special favor.

If you knew someone who was suffering and you could help them, you would, right? I mean if they were suffering from excruciating pain, you’d help. Of course you would.

You now have the opportunity to do just that!

If you’re like me, you know people who are suffering from all kinds of things like migraine headaches, leg pain, stress, carpal tunnel, jaw pain, Fibromyalgia, asthma, stomach aches, pain in their joints, knee pain, foot pain, you name it, and they’ve got it.

Before you read the rest of this note, please take a minute and think of those people you know who have been telling you about their symptoms for years. Imagine if they began getting adjusted and a couple of weeks later they came up to you and told you, “Hey I just wanted to thank you for telling me about Wade & Associates. They’re great. I love their whole staff to death and I am feeling really good right now. It’s made a huge difference in my life and I just wanted to thank you in person. Thanks a lot.”

How good would that make you feel? Well I know you want to help your friends and family so we’ve come up with a simple and easy way to help those people and get a FREE DINNER in the process. This is the best way in my opinion to get the people that you know introduced to our office.

All you have to do is call the office (256-237-9423), talk to Shawn and tell him how many people you want to bring for a FREE DINNER to the next "Dinner with the Doc" at Western Sizzlin in Oxford on _March 17, 2011.

Pretty good deal, right? You get a delicious dinner and they get a casual meet & greet. I’ll also be there to answer any questions they might have about their health problems.

Now remember. This DINNER is FREE! There’s no obligations, but they get to meet casually and we’ll give them a complimentary, no obligation visit at the office. Individual results may vary.

There are thousands of people suffering who we’ll never get to meet and help. We need you to help us out and tell them that they might be able to be helped. I recently had a woman, who was handicapped and she has improved about 85%, she tells me that she was told that nothing could be done by her medical doctor. Now she is even walking!

You know someone also who has been told "nothing more can be done."

What the medical provider means is that there is nothing that they can do medically-but there is always something else-and you can let them know that chiropractic care may help. I want to give you a Special Thanks to those who have already brought someone to a “Dinner with the Doc” and to tell you to keep helping people! Just keep inviting more new people to the FREE DINNER. They’ll thank you.

Sincerely,

Dr. David E. Wade, Dr Keith Cornelius & Staff

Whiplash

The term "whiplash" was first used in 1928 to define an injury mechanism of sudden hyperextension followed by an immediate hyperflexion of the neck that results in damage to the muscles, ligaments and tendons – especially those that support the head. Today, we know that whiplash injuries frequently do not result from hyperextension or hyperflexion (extension and flexion beyond normal physiological limits), but rather an extremely rapid extension and flexion that causes injuries.


Due to their complicated nature and profound impact on peoples lives, few topics in health care generate as much controversy as whiplash injuries. Unlike a broken bone where a simple x-ray can validate the presence of the fracture and standards of care can direct a health care professional as to the best way in which to handle the injury, whiplash injuries involve an unpredictable combination of nervous system, muscles joints and connective tissue disruption that is not simple to diagnose and can be even more of a challenge to treat. In order to help you understand the nature of whiplash injuries and how they should be treated, it is necessary to spend a bit of time discussing the mechanics of how whiplash injuries occur.

The Four Phases of a Whiplash Injury

During a rear-end automobile collision, your body goes through an extremely rapid and intense acceleration and deceleration. In fact, all four phases of a whiplash injury occur in less than one-half of a second! At each phase, there is a different force acting on the body that contributes to the overall injury, and with such a sudden and forceful movement, damage to the vertebrae, nerves, discs, muscles, and ligaments of your neck and spine can be substantial.

Phase 1

During this first phase, your car begins to be pushed out from under you, causing your mid-back to be flattened against the back of your seat. This results in an upward force in your cervical spine, compressing your discs and joints. As your seat back begins to accelerate your torso forward, your head moves backward, creating a shearing force in your neck. If your head restraint is properly adjusted, the distance your head travels backward is limited. However, most of the damage to the spine will occur before your head reaches your head restraint. Studies have shown that head restraints only reduce the risk of injury by 11-20%.

Phase 2

During phase two, your torso has reached peak acceleration - 1.5 to 2 times that of your vehicle itself - but your head has not yet begun to accelerate forward and continues to move rearward. An abnormal S-curve develops in your cervical spine as your seat back recoils forward, much like a springboard, adding to the forward acceleration of the torso. Unfortunately, this forward seat back recoil occurs while your head is still moving backward, resulting in a shearing force in the neck that is one of the more damaging aspects of a whiplash injury. Many of the bone, joint, nerve, disc and TMJ injuries that I see clinically occur during this phase.

Phase 3

During the third phase, your torso is now descending back down in your seat and your head and neck are at their peak forward acceleration. At the same time, your car is slowing down. If you released the pressure on your brake pedal during the first phases of the collision, it will likely be reapplied during this phase. Reapplication of the brake causes your car to slow down even quicker and increases the severity of the flexion injury of your neck. As you move forward in your seat, any slack in your seat belt and shoulder harness is taken up.

Phase 4

This is probably the most damaging phase of the whiplash phenomenon. In this fourth phase, your torso is stopped by your seat belt and shoulder restraint and your head is free to move forward unimpeded. This results in a violent forward-bending motion of your neck, straining the muscles and ligaments, tearing fibers in the spinal discs, and forcing vertebrae out of their normal position. Your spinal cord and nerve roots get stretched and irritated, and your brain can strike the inside of your skull causing a mild to moderate brain injury. If you are not properly restrained by your seat harness, you may suffer a concussion, or more severe brain injury, from striking the steering wheel or windshield.

Injuries Resulting from Whiplash Trauma

As we discussed briefly in the introduction, whiplash injuries can manifest in a wide variety of ways, including neck pain, headaches, fatigue, upper back and shoulder pain, cognitive changes and low back pain. Due to the fact that numerous factors play into the overall whiplash trauma, such as direction of impact, speed of the vehicles involved, as well as sex, age and physical condition, it is impossible to predict the pattern of symptoms that each individual will suffer. Additionally, whiplash symptoms commonly have a delayed onset, often taking weeks or months to present. There are, however, a number of conditions that are very common among those who have suffered from whiplash trauma.

Neck pain
It is the single most common complaint in whiplash trauma, being reported by over 90% of patients. Often this pain radiates across the shoulders, up into the head, and down between the shoulder blades. Whiplash injuries tend to affect all of the tissues in the neck, including the facet joints and discs between the vertebrae, as well as all of the muscles, ligaments and nerves.

Facet joint pain is the most common cause of neck pain following a car accident. Facet joint pain is usually felt on the back of the neck, just to the right or left of center, and is usually tender to the touch. Facet joint pain cannot be visualized on x-rays or MRIs. It can only be diagnosed by physical palpation of the area.

Disc injury is also a common cause of neck pain; especially chronic pain. The outer wall of the disc (called the anulus) is made up of bundles of fibers that can be torn during a whiplash trauma. These tears, then, can lead to disc degeneration or herniation, resulting in irritation or compression of the nerves running through the area. This compression or irritation commonly leads to radiating pain into the arms, shoulders and upper back, and may result in muscle weakness.

Damage to the muscles and ligaments in the neck and upper back are the major cause of the pain experienced in the first few weeks following a whiplash injury, and is the main reason why you experience stiffness and restricted range of motion. But as the muscles have a chance to heal, they typically don’t cause as much actual pain as they contribute to abnormal movement. Damage to the ligaments often results in abnormal movement and instability.

Headaches
After neck pain, headaches are the most prevalent complaint among those suffering from whiplash injury, affecting more than 80% of all people. While some headaches are actually the result of direct brain injury, most are related to injury of the muscles, ligaments and facet joints of the cervical spine, which refer pain to the head. Because of this, it is important to treat the supporting structures of your neck in order to help alleviate your headaches.

TMJ problems
A less common, but very debilitating disorder that results from whiplash is temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). TMJ usually begins as pain, clicking and popping noises in the jaw during movement. If not properly evaluated and treated, TMJ problems can continue to worsen and lead to headaches, facial pain, ear pain and difficulty eating. Many chiropractors are specially trained to treat TMJ problems, or can refer you to a TMJ specialist.

Brain injury
Believe it or not, mild to moderate brain injury is common following a whiplash injury, due to the forces on the brain during the four phases mentioned earlier. The human brain is a very soft structure, suspended in a watery fluid called cerebrospinal fluid. When the brain is forced forward and backward in the skull, the brain bounces off the inside of the skull, leading to bruising or bleeding in the brain itself. In some cases, patients temporarily lose consciousness and have symptoms of a mild concussion. More often, there is no loss of consciousness, but patients complain of mild confusion or disorientation just after the crash. The long-term consequences of a mild brain injury can include mild confusion, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, irritability, forgetfulness, loss of sex drive, depression and emotional instability. Although less common, the nerves responsible for your sense of smell, taste and even your vision may be affected as well, resulting in a muted sense of taste, changes in your sensation of smell and visual disturbances.

Dizziness
Dizziness following a whiplash injury usually results from injury to the facet joints of the cervical spine, although in some cases injury to the brain or brain stem may be a factor as well. Typically, this dizziness is very temporary improves significantly with chiropractic treatment.

Low back pain
Although most people consider whiplash to be an injury of the neck, the low back is also commonly injured as well. In fact, low back pain is found in more than half of rear impact-collisions in which injury was reported, and almost three-quarters of all side-impact crashes. This is mostly due to the fact that the low back still experiences a tremendous compression during the first two phases of a whiplash injury, even though it does not have the degree of flexion-extension injury experienced in the neck.

Recovery from Whiplash
With proper care, many mild whiplash injuries heal within six to nine months. However, more than 20% of those who suffer from whiplash injuries continue to suffer from pain, weakness or restricted movement two years after their accident. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these people will continue to suffer from some level of disability or pain for many years after that, if not for the rest of their lives.

Whiplash is a unique condition that requires the expertise of a skilled health professional specially trained to work with these types of injuries. The most effective treatment for whiplash injuries is a combination of chiropractic care, rehabilitation of the soft tissues and taking care of yourself at home.

Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care utilizes manual manipulation of the spine to restore the normal movement and position of the spinal vertebrae. It is by far the single-most effective treatment for minimizing the long-term impact of whiplash injuries, especially when coupled with massage therapy, trigger point therapy, exercise rehabilitation and other soft tissue rehabilitation modalities.

Soft Tissue Rehabilitation
The term ‘soft tissue’ simply refers to anything that is not bone, such as your muscles, ligaments, tendons, nervous system, spinal discs and internal organs. During a whiplash injury, the tissues that are affected most are the soft tissues, the muscles, ligaments and discs in particular. In order to minimize permanent impairment and disability, it is important to use therapies that stimulate the soft tissues to heal correctly. These include massage therapy, electro-stimulation, trigger point therapy, stretching and specific strength and range of motion exercises.

Home Care
The most effective chiropractic care and soft tissue rehabilitation will be limited in its benefit if what you do at home or at work stresses or re-injures you on a daily basis. For this reason, it is important that your plan of care extend into the hours and days between your clinic visits to help speed your recovery. Some of the more common home care therapies are the application of ice packs, limitations on work or daily activities, specific stretches and exercises, taking nutritional supplements and getting plenty of rest.

Medical Intervention
In some severe cases of whiplash, it may be necessary to have some medical care as part of your overall treatment plan. The most common medical treatments include the use of anti-inflammatory medications, muscle relaxants, trigger point injections and, in some cases, epidural spinal injections. These therapies should be used for short-term relief of pain, if necessary, and not be the focus of treatment. After all, a drug cannot restore normal joint movement and stimulate healthy muscle repair. Fortunately, surgery is only needed in some cases of herniated discs, when the disc is pressing on the spinal cord, and in some cases of spine fractures.

Dr Wade is certified in Spinal Trauma and in Sport Injury and Rehabilitation. He actively treats hundreds of people with auto accidents every year since 1984.  For more information go to http://www.wadechiropractic.com/. You can ask Dr Wade a question by email drwade@wadechiropractic.com, or call the office at 256-237-9423.