Category: Whiplash

This article published in the journal SPINE, reported that people who suffer from a whiplash type injury that have jaw pain immediately after the injury, tend to continue to have jaw pain much later. ~ Dr. Broussard The Course of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Disability After Whiplash Trauma A 2-year Prospective Study Lampa, Ewa PhD,…

This article reports that neck muscle function can be altered for at least one year after a whiplash injury, even after all the pain is gone.  The authors call for an increased clinical focus on early neck function after whiplash injury. J Rehabil Med. 2018 Jun 15;50(6):548-555. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2348. Whiplash injury results in sustained impairments…

This study concluded that structured education, acupuncture added to routine medical care; manual therapy; multimodal care that includes manual therapy; advice and exercise; and psychological care using cognitive-behavioral therapy appear cost-effective. Spine J. 2016 Dec;16(12):1582-1597. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2015.08.025. Epub 2015 Nov 26. Which interventions are cost-effective for the management of whiplash-associated and neck pain-associated disorders? A systematic…

Whiplash is really a slang term for the rapid back and forth whipping of the head on the neck, usually associated with motor vehicle accidents. The title “Whiplash Associated Disorders”, or WAD, describes it best because it includes ALL of the MANY signs and symptoms of the disorder. WAD basically comes in three sizes based…

There is certainly a lot of interest in concussion these days between big screen movies, football, and other sports-related injuries. Concussion, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are often used interchangeably. Though mTBI is NOT the first thing we think about in a low-speed motor vehicle collision (MVC), it does happen.…

Last month, we looked at the VERY important deep neck flexor muscles. As promised, this month, we will cover exercises to work the deep neck extensors. Since the 1990s, the deep neck flexors have been getting most of the attention as being the “missing link” in rehab of the neck after whiplash. As important as…

Whiplash, or “Whiplash Associated Disorders” (WAD), results from a sudden jarring motion, often from a car crash that occurs too fast for someone to voluntarily “brace” themselves. This is because the whole “whiplash cycle” is over within 300msec, and we cannot contract a muscle faster than 700-800 msec. Other injury factors include: the type and…