By Michele S Jang, PT ~
Have you ever been in a car accident where you’ve been rear-ended and experienced a whiplash injury?
Some people recover quickly while others have persistent neck, back or nausea problems. Why is this?
To understand why, let’s explore the mechanics around what occurs during a whiplash injury.
Whiplash occurs when you are driving a car and are hit from the rear. Injuries are often worst if you are in a sedan compared to a truck or SUV, which ride higher. When you are rear-ended, the force of the car rear-ending you usually hits your car near the bumper. That force of impact translates forward into your car at the level of your low back dramatically forcing your sacrum and spinal cord forward toward the dashboard.
Your back then rounds and your chin tucks forcefully which stretches your spinal cord further and in fact, depending on how strong the impact is, the upper part of your spinal cord where it attaches to the brain gets yanked inferiorly. Then, violently your head gets jerked backwards. Sometimes even years after the accident, the sacrum or craniobase can still be stuck positioned inferiorly. I call this a “Descended Sacrum or Craniobase” and I have treated a number of them. The sacrum and craniobase when palpated are actually situated inferiorly causing strain on the nerves and surrounding structures.
Often this “Descended Phenomena” is a strong contributing factor to persistent neck and back problems.
Lastly, the Vagus nerve is your 10th cranial nerve which originates in your brain, exits your skull at the craniobase and travels down your neck to innervate your stomach and digestive tract. During a whiplash injury, it can easily be irritated thus contributing to nausea and possibly other sympathetic nerve issues. There are also techniques to calm this nerve. If you are experiencing lingering symptoms following an auto accident, an alternative approach may help.
Michele S Jang, PT is a physical therapist who likes to look outside the box. She has been a physical therapist for over 20 years and has extensive training in manual therapy or the use of hands to help rehabilitate the body.
Michele has been an instructor both in the United States and abroad. She offers Free Consults on Tuesday afternoons. Michele also has a team of therapists at Spirit Winds who offer an array of expertise on exercise, fall prevention, foot and shoe assessments, body mechanics and proper breathing technique to increase awareness and healing. Michele can be reached at 805 543-5100 or [email protected].
