Sometimes our world can be a pretty dangerous place; many of us have experienced a traumatic brush (or collision) with reality. Accidents may be unavoidable, but much of the resultant pain and suffering may, in many cases, be safely and gently addressed with chiropractic care. That is likely because many people who have experienced trauma also have subluxations: structural spinal distortions causing nerve interference that can lead to many symptoms. I have been studying and practicing chiropractic since 1990 and have taken many seminars in the area of injury documentation and treatment. For more information about my approach to treatment please click HERE.
Chiropractors play a vital role in the care of injured people
Doctors of chiropractic focus on locating and correcting subluxations using relatively safe, gentle, “adjustment” techniques.
From what I have seen in my practice, people can leave the emergency room with as many subluxations as when they entered it. I lived and worked as a chiropractor for many years in the USA. In America, some hospitals have employed chiropractors to assist in these situations. I worked near Fort Carson, Colorado where chiropractors (commissioned military officers) had such long lines of soldiers waiting to see them with a range of injuries and symptoms including chronic neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain and other issues that a few consulted with me, even though they had to pay for it, rather than wait in those long lines.
Physical problems after injury
Accidents can cause injuries leading to shoulder pain, arm pain, wrist, hand, leg pain, headaches as well as back pain, arthritis pain, and even jaw and facial pain. I have assisted many injured people with those symptoms. Some people present with one or two conditions and others have had dozens of symptoms develop as a result of a single event such as a car accident. For example, I had one person here in Canberra that was referred to me by her GP, who had 52 different symptoms.
Since, for me, one of the main objectives of chiropractic is to reduce nerve interference caused by spinal subluxations in order to restore optimal nerve function, and since chiropractic can, in some cases, profoundly assist the above-listed health issues, it's no wonder why 300 000 people seek chiropractic care in Australia every week. (Reference here https://www.chiro.org.au/patients/about-chiropractic) With NDIS, car accident insurance, DVA and workers compensation schemes paying to some extent for chiropractic care, people with access to those programs are seeking assistance after injury.
There is a substantial amount of scientific support for the use of chiropractic in the care of injuries. One example can be found in a British study titled Chiropractic treatment of chronic ‘whiplash’ injuries, “Twenty-eight patients were selected at random from chiropractic referrals for chronic ‘whiplash’ syndrome…” The patients’ symptoms before and after treatment were assessed blind by an independent chiropractor and an orthopaedic surgeon. The authors made the statement:
“… chiropractic treatment has been shown to be advantageous compared to conventional medicine in the treatment of low back pain.”
They then concluded “The results of this retrospective study would suggest that benefits can also occur in over ninety percent of patients undergoing chiropractic treatment for chronic ‘whiplash’ injury.” A follow-up study by some of the same authors in The Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine, reported:
“Our results confirm the efficacy of chiropractic, with 69 of our 93 patients (74%) improving following treatment.” The study concluded “The results from this study provide further evidence that chiropractic is an effective treatment for chronic whiplash symptoms.”
For more information on our experience in working with accidents, click here
“You'll have to learn to live with it”
Many people have been told that they’ll just have to “learn to live with it," but it isn’t always true. Anyone who has been in an accident or had various forms of trauma, no matter how long ago, may still be able to make substantial progress in their efforts towards recovery with chiropractic care. I have taken care of dozens of people after hospital treatment for injuries ranging from fractured neck, fractured back and two cases of multiple pelvic fractures, to repetitive injury as well as work injuries and car accidents. While I cannot guarantee results in every case, I have seen many times when chiropractic care has made the difference between struggling with a life of pain, restriction and suffering to a life of ease, productivity and improved overall quality of life.
The Value of Experience
While it is not possible for any treating provider to predict the level of anticipated success in every case, over 20 years of experience helps me to assess injured people and have a reasonable level of confidence about whether or not I can help them to make progress towards a more complete recovery.
Having provided written chiropractic opinions as an official state “Independent Medical Evaluator” to dozens of car accident victims in Colorado, who were being treated by other chiropractor, I have seen cases where people have received excellent care as well as cases where that care was not ideal. This experience leads me to believe that it is important to do a very detailed initial evaluation, and if applicable, to then include treatment, in order to be able to make a prediction about whether or not the person is likely to make progress.
If, after my detailed initial evaluation, I find good evidence that progress is likely, then I will recommend a specific treatment plan with a thorough re-evaluation in 4 to 6 weeks. At that point, I will usually provide a detailed written report documenting my findings to the managing GP. I am usually also able to include notes on a range of symptomatic and functional improvements in that report.
Working As Part Of Your Accident Recovery Team
Several GPs and solicitors in the ACT have found that this approach has been helpful in better understanding the nature of injuries for some of their patients and clients. Another goal of mine is to document the negative impact that injuries have had upon the lives of my injured patients. I do this primarily to help me monitor the progress of my patients which helps me to ensure my treatment continues to be beneficial, however, in the process of doing this documentation, it can be very useful to the injured person's GP and solicitor.
I have benefited from physio myself and all of my children have sought assistance from physiotherapists. I have had some injury cases, where I have had the opportunity to interact with the patient's physiotherapist to the benefit of the patient. My objectives and methods are usually very different to the physio and a physio's work is very beneficial, therefore, with good communication, there are times where both chiropractic and physio together, can offer more to the patient than just one or the other.
Jason W. Barritt B.Sc (Hons) DC
Chiropractor
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References:
A symptomatic classification of whiplash injury and the implications for treatment. Khan S, Cook J, Gargan M. Bannister G The Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine 21[1] 1999.
Hadley LA. Intervertebral joint subluxation, bony impingement and foramen encroachment with nerve root change. Am J Roentgenology and Radiological Therapeutics. 1951;65:337-402.
Braaf MM, Rosner S, Gukelberger M. Trauma of cervical spine as cause of chronic headache. J Trauma. 1975;15:441-446.
Gukelberger M. The uncomplicated post-traumatic cervical syndrome. Scand J Rehabilitative Med. 1972;4:150-153.