Whats the best way to treat a whiplash injury?
It depends on the severity of the injury and the patient’s needs. Very few whiplash injuries require surgical treatment or a hospital stay, but many whiplash patients go the emergency room as their first treatment, especially if the collision was severe. Drugs are often prescribed for whiplash patients, and they can be useful for short-term relief of pain. Long-term use of medications, however, can lead to dependency, and they drugs themselves do not help the injured tissues heal. The key to long-term health of the soft-tissues after injury is mobilization of the affected areas. This is best accomplished with spinal manipulation and muscular therapy, either alone or in combination. What are the risk factors for long-term injury from a rear-end collision? There are hundreds of them. A recent engineering study attempted to predict which variables would result in injury in their test occupants exposed to low speed crashes. Even when taking into account 18 different measurable factors, the
