Chiropractic Health & Wellness Blog

The summer is over. The kids are back in school. There is still some awesome weather ahead before the snowflakes start flying.  Autumn in Minnesota is a treasured time with the nice weather, and beautiful fall colors. Call me crazy, but I like this time of year. It averages 72 degrees – perfect to enjoy the great outdoors. And Minnesota has a lot of fun places to go and a lot of ways to get there… cars, motorcycles and everything else. Unfortunately when we hit the road some of us hit each other.

Accidents are accidents… you can’t plan for them — they just happen! People have car accidents all the time. Sometimes drivers get into small accidents – fender benders in a parking lot, 5 MPH.

Whiplash is the common name given to the injury where there is a hyperextention (increased backward motion) and hyperflexion (increased forward motion) of the cervical (neck) spine and is also known as Acute Soft Tissue Neck Sprain.

When whiplash injury occurs, the soft tissues – the tendons, ligaments and muscles – which support the head and neck become stretched out of their natural range of motion and torn.

The muscles and ligaments of the neck contract in order to prevent excessive motion and protect you from further serious injury such as a neck fracture or spinal cord injury.  This is called a stretch reflex (myotatic reflex).

More simply put, the head is dramatically thrust forward and backward. Car accidents (rear-end collisions) are usually the cause whiplash injuries.

Although whiplash is most frequently the result of a rear-end collision, whiplash can occur in several other situations including:

It takes a trained Minneapolis MN Chiropractor to know what to look for.  Usually hospitals and MD’s will check vital  signs, make sure there are no life-threatening conditions and release the patient with pain relief medication. Pills do not correct the damage to soft tissues and other systems that can lead to future pain. There are special chiropractic treatments for such conditions. If you are having problems, you should see a chiropractor. Or, call Lyn Lake Chiropractic.