While many people deal with whiplash soon after the event of a car accident, many victims of a car accident initially walk away from hospital examinations and x-rays with reports of "nothing being broken" and therefore think they are fine and not in need of any further medical assistance or support.



This is often not the case and symptoms of whiplash later appear. Studies show that from 50 to 90 per cent of sufferers continue to suffer from pain and some amount of disability for years after an accident. If left untreated, this can result in serious degeneration of the neck and spine. The back is not only a crucial skeletal area supporting the body and head but carries nerve signals affecting brain functions and body movements, which can be badly affected.

A car accident whiplash injury is a dramatic example of a subluxation produced by a sudden accident or trauma. A subluxation (also known as vertebral subluxation) is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and put pressure on and irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves come out from between each of the bones in the spine and pressure or irritation causes them to malfunction.

This interference with signals travelling over the nerves can result in delayed 'instructions' to the brain. An example of a delayed referral would be tripping or falling over - your brain tells your body to run, but you can't run as fast as your brain is telling your body to run, and so you fall over.

As the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of your body, if all of the signals being transmitted over the nerves are interfered with, parts of the body will not be able to function at 100 per cent of their usual abilities. In other words, some parts of the body will not be able to work properly at all.

Other symptoms can include 'referred pain' - where pain and tingling is felt in a part of the body that the area is normally served by the damaged nerve ending - often the arms.

Cervogenic headaches - one-sided neck and head pains radiating from the second and third cervical vertebrae - are also common. They are often initially thought of as being stress or tension headaches. If the spine area or neck area has compacted, then the head can often feel as if it is being held on a stick and head movement can be restricted. Less frequently there are symptoms of nausea and sensitivity to loud noise and light.

Often, patients end up seeing a chiropractor in desperation because they feel there is something wrong with their body but after seeing their GP and receiving little or no long-term help or referrals, decide to take the matter into their own hands.

A chiropractic practitioner can locate subluxations and reduce or correct them. This is done through a series of chiropractic adjustments specifically designed to correct subluxations in the spine. Depending on the severity of the whiplash symptoms, treatment may be required every few weeks.