What is Whiplash and Why Do I Have Neck Pain?

        Recently, I was at a trauma-oriented conference and the speaker presented a research paper from The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; published research entitled Whiplash Injuries: Their Long-Term Prognosis.

What is Whiplash?

        Whiplash is a powerful force.  It hurls your head backwards and forwards, or to the side, resulting in an injury to the neck.  A car accident, sports injury, or simply a push from behind all can cause a whiplash injury.  Symptoms of a whiplash injury don't always appear right away - sometimes it takes a few weeks before symptoms (stiff necks, headaches, tingling in the arms or legs) appear.
        The symptoms of whiplash often seen are: headaches, neck pain and stiffness, dizziness, and tingling sensations into the arms and shoulders.  Often whiplash victims cannot bend their heads to the side or forward and backward as well as they should.

        In this study the author reviewed 43 patients who had sustained soft-tissue injuries to the neck, as a result of a rear-end collision, after a time of 10 years.  Of these 21 males and 22 females, only 12% recovered completely while residual symptoms were present in 28% and severe in 12%.  The males' average age was 53 while the females' average was 44.  88% of these individuals never recover from their injuries.  Pain in the neck and lower back were the most common complaint and the older the patient, the worse the prognosis.

        Chiropractors can provide a complete examination, x-rays, and incorporate any necessary physical therapies with the chiropractic adjustments and exercise that have helped millions of people over the years.

Thatcher Chiropractic is located at 3535 American Drive in Colorado Springs, Colorado 80917 near the intersection at Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard.  For more information you can visit our website at thatcherchiropractic.com.  If you have additional questions or wish to schedule an appointment, please feel free to contact us by phone.  You can reach us at (719) 574-3700.

Lower Back Disc Herniations

        Treatment with spinal manipulation of lower back conditions can be extremely effective, both for new problems and older ones.  One type of lower back condition is a herniated disc.  The disc is a gelatinous type of material that lies between the vertebra and is contained by a ligament known as the annulus.  When the annulus tears, it allows the disc material to move out of its normal position or space, creating symptoms.  Sometimes herniated discs are also referred to as slipped, bulging, protruded, or extruded.  Unfortunately, these terms seem to be used interchangeably by patients and healthcare providers, thereby creating some confusion.

        A recent article in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics entitled Safety of Spinal Manipulation in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniations: a Systematic Review and Risk Assessment provided a qualitative systematic review of the risk factors in treating lumbar disc herniations with spinal manipulation in contrast to other forms of treatment such as anti-inflammatory drugs or surgery.

        The article found that only 1 in 3.7 million lumbar herniated discs actually worsened with spinal manipulation and concluded, when comparing risk factors of other commonly used treatments, that the use of spinal manipulation should be used more frequently in the management of lumbar herniated discs.

Thatcher Chiropractic is located at 3535 American Drive in Colorado Springs, Colorado 80917 near the intersection at Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard.  For more information you can visit our website at thatcherchiropractic.com.  If you have additional questions or wish to schedule an appointment, please feel free to contact us by phone.  You can reach us at (719) 574-3700.

When Painkillers Cause Pain

        According to the journal Neurology, daily or near-daily use of analgesics is associated with chronic (long term) headaches, especially chronic migraine headaches, and neck pain and lower back pain.  In this study of 65,000 individuals analgesics (painkillers) were defined as over-the-counter or prescription.  Use of analgesics daily or almost daily for one month or more in the previous 12 months constituted "overuse."

        The study showed that individuals who took analgesics on a daily basis for 1 to 3 months were 2.9 times more likely to have chronic migraine headaches.  If a migraine sufferer uses analgesics daily for more than 6 months their risk of chronic migraines increases to 20.6 times.  In non-migraine headaches analgesic use on a daily basis for 1 to 3 months increased chronic headache pain 2.6 times; for 6 months, 9.5 times.  Concerning chronic neck and low back pain, taking analgesics daily for 1 to 3 months doubles the likelihood of chronic pain.  Using analgesics daily for more than 6 months increased the likelihood of chronic neck and low back pain 3.5 times.

        The authors of this study concluded: "The high number of individuals with analgesic overuse has important clinical implications, and physicians should be aware of the potential risk of analgesic overuse among those with chronic pain, especially those with migraine."  This article points out that the use of long term analgesics, the medicine our society commonly uses to relieve migraine headache, non-migraine headache, neck pain or lower back pain is increasing the likelihood of the pain it is supposedly relieving.

Thatcher Chiropractic is located at 3535 American Drive in Colorado Springs, Colorado 80917 near the intersection at Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard.  For more information you can visit our website at thatcherchiropractic.com.  If you have additional questions or wish to schedule an appointment, please feel free to contact us by phone.  You can reach us at (719) 574-3700.