From Dr. Natalie Meiri’s Clinical Pearl Stories: West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Pediatric Auto Injury Recovery
This was a 30 year old mother and her 4 year old son who were involved in a motor vehicle accident. The chief complaints were neck, back and extremity (arms and legs) injuries. They presented to my office 1 day after sustaining injuries from a car accident. Their car was hit on the passenger side. That was the side the baby was in. To be HIPAA compliant, I will call the mother Karina and the son Adam instead of their real names. Karina was a long time patient of my office and knew the benefits of chiropractic. Karina knew chiropractic physicians examined, diagnosed and treated neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Moreover, chiropractic care after a car accident can get you out of pain naturally. After all, pain medications can be harmful and addictive for both adults and kids.
Examination and X-rays
Upon examination, I found positive tests for a sprain diagnosis for all of Karina’s injuries (neck, back and right wrist). Similarly, upon examination, Adam also had a sprain diagnosis for all his injuries (neck, back, chest and abdomen). They had suffered a whiplash injury (injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement). And they both had tenderness where their seat belts were. Even though the baby couldn’t speak, he had difficulty doing his regular motions and especially in lifting his legs. Subsequently, the baby went to the pediatrician who cleared him for chiropractic care.
The x-rays taken at the imaging center showed mild osteoarthritis in Karina’s right wrist, cervical (neck), thoracic (mid back) and lumbar (low back) spine. This is the “wear and tear” type of arthritis. Furthermore, the x-rays showed instability in the neck and spine during the whiplash. Two of her vertebrae in her neck had ligamentous instability (stretched or tiny torn soft tissues, but not ruptured) from this accident. So the osteoarthritis was solely a finding on the imaging that had occurred over the years. Karina had decreased cervical lordosis (decreased normal curve in the neck) consistent with cervical myospasm (muscle spasm) on her cervical x-ray. I would order an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) if there was no improvement after 12 visits.
Chiropractic Treatment
Starting at 3-4 times a week for the mom and 2-3 times for the baby, it took many months of care. Firstly, treatments included chiropractic adjustments/ manipulation. Secondly, soft tissue therapy (myofascial release, pressure point and various neuromusculoskeletal re-education procedures). Thirdly, modalities (cold/heat therapy and electric muscle stimulation) were administered as needed for Karina’s injuries. Finally, therapeutic exercises to continue treatment at home were given.
Both Karina and Adam started to feel better from the first week of treatment. After months of treatment, their conditions were stable enough to return for care as needed.
What are some auto accident injury symptoms?
- Neck pain from whiplash. The pain can range from mild to severe. It might be in one spot, a general area, or radiate down the shoulder into the arm and/or hand. This can be caused by ligament sprains or muscle strains, but also by injuries to discs, nerves, joints, and/or bones.
- Neck stiffness or reduced range of motion. Reduced neck mobility could be from pain, irritation of the cervical facet joints, or spasm of the cervical muscles.
- Headache. This could be from neck muscle tightening/spasm. Also, a nerve or joint irritation of the spine could cause headaches.
- Neck instability. This whiplash symptom commonly results from stretched or torn soft tissues, such as ligaments. Although, it could also be caused by a fracture.
- Back and extremity (arms and legs) pain. Your back can also suffer whiplash (acceleration/deceleration injuries) during an auto accident. Subsequently, your back can refer pain to other soft tissues in the upper back and shoulders or legs. Of course, you can also separately sprain or strain your extremity as well during the collision.
Adults and kids respond well to chiropractic care after whiplash
First, for some people, whiplash symptoms can be minor. For others, the symptoms can become varied and chronic, ranging from severe pain to cognitive and emotional problems. Some patients often complain of other symptoms and signs such as blackouts, visual disturbances, nausea and vomiting, and chest pain. Also, a nondermatomal pattern (a large area of sensory finding) of pain and deficit is common.
Second, sometimes whiplash symptoms persist or get worse with time. Whiplash symptoms might manifest immediately following the acceleration-deceleration accident, or they can take a few hours or days to appear. Even low-speed rear impact injury crashes (LOSRIC) account for as much as 80% of rear impact collisions. The range of speed in these types of crashes are between 6 and 12 mph.
Third, results from a study showed an association between a history of neck injury in a motor vehicle accident and chronic headaches, disabling neck pain, and a perception of lower general health compared to those with no history of neck injury. This is why it is so important to get care right away. The good news is, recent encouraging research indicates that patients with symptoms of whiplash injury respond well to chiropractic care!
Safety of Chiropractic for Kids
The American Chiropractic Association cites a study done in 2014 confirming that chiropractic adjustments are overwhelmingly safe in infants and children.
In 2009, a survey found that there were about 68 million pediatric visits to chiropractors. The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners’ most recent practice analysis, issued in 2010, found that about 17 percent of chiropractic patients were under age 18 — approximately 7.7 percent aged five years or younger and some 9.4 percent between ages six and 17.
West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Pediatric Auto Injury Recovery
The fact is Chiropractors receive training to treat all people, from babies to the elderly. And many children have benefited from chiropractic care, including babies. Moreover, Chiropractic care is among the most common complementary and integrative health care practices used by children in the United States (US National Center for Health Statistics Report, 2015) and internationally. So children with musculoskeletal conditions often seek chiropractic treatment. Specific issues include musculoskeletal/neurologic development, sports injuries and also injuries sustained in an motor vehicle accident. For parents who are looking for answers besides putting their kids on more drugs, Chiropractic is a great solution.
Meiri Chiropractic offers chiropractic treatment for car accident injuries and other ailments for adults and kids. Call 561-253-8984 to schedule an appointment!