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Chiropractors discusses risk of future pain from motor vehicle accidents

Chiropractor Thought for the Week:  In April of 2017, the European Spine Journal presented a study involving 789 adults, all of whom reported experiencing mild low back pain or no pain at all. Upon entering the study, each person was asked whether or not he or she had been in a motor vehicle accident resulting in low back pain, making note of whether their level of pain increased, decreased, or stayed the same six and 12 months down the road.  Approximately 74.8 percent of the participants responded at the six month mark, with 64.5 percent providing input at 12 months. Of those who did respond, researchers noticed a positive correlation between those who had previously been involved in an auto accident and the incidences of low back pain at a later date. In other words, having a car crash in your past may increase your risk of back pain in the future. This study strengthens the need for see the chiropractor after an auto accident. Severe spinal muscle contraction as in a spasm caused by traumatic car accidents will lead to the contracted muscle pulling on the spinal bones causing subluxated (misaligned) vertebra. Once the vertebra are misaligned, spinal pain symptoms can occur. Gradually, overtime, the muscles become used to the misalignment and the pain subsides. The problem is that the misaligned vertebra create an instability or weakness in that spinal joint area. This predisposes the body to future episodes of neck or back pain. The chiropractor corrects the alignment of the spine, balancing the muscle tissue and restoring stability to the spinal joint area, preventing future episodes of pain in that area. The chiropractor is the only health care professional that focuses on spinal alignment. The chiropractor is uniquely qualified to care for people who have been involved in an auto accident.

Author
Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.

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