Arlington Whiplash and Auto Injuries

Over a million people are injured in rear-end collisions every year in the US, and a sizeable percentage of whiplash cases can contribute to pain lasting several years or even decades. The good news is that chiropractic care has been found to be a powerful way to care for whiplash injuries and prevent chronic pain. Dr. Ernst has helped many Arlington residents who have suffered an auto injury.

A 1996 British scientific study sums up the problem:

The whiplash syndrome is a collection of symptoms produced as a result of soft-tissue injury of the cervical spine. The accumulated literature suggests that 43 percent of patients will suffer long-term symptoms following whiplash injury. If patients are still symptomatic after three months then there is almost a 90 percent chance that they will remain so. No conventional treatment has proven to be effective in these established chronic cases.

The authors of this paper studied the advantages of chiropractic in 28  patients with persistent whiplash pain. The patients were referred to the chiropractic physician an average of 15.5 months after the collision, and were interviewed before care by both an third-party chiropractor and an orthopedic physician. The subjects were allotted to one of four classification groups: A ) No symptoms; B ) Symptoms are a nuisance; C) Symptoms are intrusive; and, D ) Symptoms are disabling. The initial analysis placed 27 of the 28 patients in groups C or D.

Following treatment, 26 (93 percent) of the patients had improved: 16 by one symptom group and 10 by two symptom groups. This improvement was independent of whether it was assessed by an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractor. In the group that had improved, 17 had stopped their treatment at the time of assessment; symptoms had recurred to a minor degree in four (24 percent) of these patients and they were considering further treatment.

This agrees with what we find in our practice here in Arlington, WA. Chiropractic adjustments are a fantastic strategy to help you recuperate from auto injuries and avoid persistent pain and disability.

Don't suffer from old or recent auto accidents! Dr. Ernst has successfully treated many auto injury patients in Arlington, WA. Call our office today at (360) 659-8464 to see how we can help you.

Reference

Woodward MN, Cook JCH, Gargan MF, Bannister GC. Chiropractic treatment of chronic whiplash injuries. Injury: International Journal of the Care of the Injured 1996;27(9):643-645.