Contact your local Denver chiropractor if you are experiencing back pain, neck pain, have been in a denver car accident, sports injury, maintenance care, or interested in wellness care.
Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com/index.html
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The sound of brakes squealing behind you can be a perilous sound that no one wants to hear. You have been rear ended, and are now a victim of someone else’s carelessness. Car accidents in Denver happen like this everyday. We have the third worst traffic in the country, and with heavy traffic, rear end type collisions are common.
Unfortunately, not everyone will completely recover from their injuries sustained. Whiplash, or cervical acceleration deceleration syndrome, is one of the most common injuries that occur to the human body. Injuries can take a very long time to heal if they are not treated by a professional. This blog article has been written for the people that have been in an auto accident and are seeking help for their pain.
You have plenty of options when it comes to seeking care, and depending on the extent an severity of your injuries, will somewhat dictate what type of professional you see. Usually, the auto accident victim will be transported to the emergency room. If there is no serious, or red flag type of injuries, you will be discharged with some home instructions on icing, and given some pills to help with pain and muscle spasms.
As a Denver chiropractor, many people have come to my office seeking help from auto injuries. As far as treatment goes, there are plenty of options which I would like to list.
Treatment options for car accident injuries:
1. Chiropractic manipulative therapy
2. Electrotherapy
3. Ultrasound
4. Cold laser
5. Kinesiotaping
6. Traction
7. Exercise
8. Moist Heat
9. Ice
10. Supplements
11. Bracing
12. Trigger Point Therapy
13. Graston Technique
14. Muscle Energy Techniques
15. Topical Analgesics
16. Pelvic Blocking
17. Mechanical or manual massage
18. Nutrition
19. Spine sparring strategies
20. Acupuncture
21. Active Release Technique or other similar forms
22. Surgery
23. Pharmaceuticals
24. Topical Analgesics
25. Wait and watch
As you see, there are plenty of options, but I would highly recommend you to avoid the wait and watch method. Rarely, do people get better by doing nothing. I see first hand when patients get done with treatments here at Denver Chiropractic, LLC, that improvement is instant and noticeable.
As you have noticed, I’m a bit biased towards chiropractic in the list. This is not because I think chiropractors are the only ones to heal patients involved in car crashes. Car accident victims have serious injuries, and there is no magic cure, or silver bullet to healing. Most of the times, you will get care from several specialists, but what makes the chiropractor unique is our training in spinal and extremity manipulation.
Chiropractors have a minimal of 7-8 years of school behind their name. I went to school for ten years, and have three degrees. All chiropractors are doctors of chiropractic (DC). We are well trained in being able to diagnose conditions with the joints, nerves, muscle, and associated tissues.
Chiropractic manipulative therapy is not suited for everyone, and the chiropractor does a great job of selecting who gets manipulative therapy and who does not get manipulative therapy. Auto accidents usually produce damage to multiple types of tissues in the human body. In particular, the muscles will spasm, which create misalignments in the spine. No one is better suited to treat the misalignments, or as we say, subluxations.
Another reason to seek the help of a chiropractor is because many of us have additional and special training in handling auto accidents. Auto accidents are unique, because you are dealing with auto insurance companies, courts, potentially a car accident lawyer, and jurors. The level of documentation and the quality of documentation increase almost exponentially with these types of cases.
In summary, get help, and if you are not getting better, seek the help of another professional or ask for a referral.
I wish you well, and a speedy recovery.
Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
303-455-2225
One of the most common types of car accidents are rear end type collisions. So common, about 3 million of them will happen each year. And a small percentage will experience neck pain for the rest of their lives due to an others carelessness and irresponsibility. Sometimes a good offense is having a good defense.
There are several ways to decrease your risk of getting neck pain, when in a rear end type accident. First off, good driving habits pay off. I highly recommend taking driving classes, especially for new drivers. Teenagers have minimal experience, and guided practice by a professional just might save their life. Besides taking classes, there are several factors that one needs to be aware of, such as:
1. Choose a safe car to drive! Not all cars are made the same, and each offer a slightly different level of protection.
* When purchasing a car, it is your responsibility to research safety ratings. Go to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and read about the ratings on different cars. Safety should always be high priority when choosing a vehicle. In particular, look at head restraint ratings. Volvo and Saab’s have very good anti-whiplash protection seats.
2. Adjust your head rest! Imagine a point in the center of your brain, that point should be at the same level to the center of the head rest. All to often, I notice drivers that have improperly positioned head rests. They are usually to low, and have never been adjusted, this is an easy change to make to help protect yourself.
3. Adjust the seat back rest angle! While sitting, your head should be resting on the head rest, or close to the head rest. The closer your head to the head rest, the safer you will be.
4. Be aware of the cars behind you! In particular, when you are stopped, be watchful of on coming cars that might not notice your stopped car. Many cases of whiplash that I treat in Denver, Colorado are from drivers waiting at a stop light. They are hit from behind by drivers that are simply not paying attention. It is known that people suffer more injuries, when they are not aware of the impending impact.
If you see a driver behind you, and know that you are going to get hit. The following will help decrease your chances for developing serious neck pain. I highly recommend you practice this with your entire family. Do drills, and use a simple command that when heard, everyone will do the following.
1. Look straight ahead! Looking to the right or left while getting rear ended, will increase your odds of developing serious neck pain.
2. Place the palm of your hands on the wheel without gripping the wheel! Others in the car should wrap their arms around their body, similar to giving yourself a hug. Serious shoulder and wrist injuries can occur with gripping the steering wheel.
3. Place your head and back against the seat back and head rest! The farther your body is away from the seat, the more your risk increases for serious back and neck pain.
4. Put your foot firmly on the brake! You want to avoid hitting the car in front of you once you have been hit. Without putting your foot on the brake, you will hit the car in front of you resulting in a double impact that your body will under go.
5. Tilt your head back! Having your head tilted slight in extension will reduce the amount of motion your neck will undergo after impact.
6. Shrug your shoulders! This decreases the tension on your neck and reduces chances of tissue in your neck from being injured.
Practice this scenario several times. Preparedness is your only offense when it comes to this type of auto accident.
If you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident. I urge you to seek a well qualified chiropractor that has special training in car accidents / auto injuries. Thinking that your pains will just go away, would be faulty, and unwise. People heal much better and faster when they receive treatment as soon as possible.
Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
303-455-2225
Rear end type accidents are among the most frequent of accidents. Two factors that can help protect you from getting whiplash are to adjust your back rest and head rest in an optimal position. Watch the video and learn how to adjust your seat correctly. Another factor in preventing whiplash is to be ever vigilant in watching the traffic approach the rear of the car while you are coming to a stop.
If you do notice that the car behind you is not slowing down, and that you realize you are going to be collided into, there are several things that you must do to help protect yourself.
1. Look straight ahead.
2. Put your head firmly against the head rest.
3. Brace your entire body, and become as stiff as possible.
4. Put both feet on the brake, or better yet put the emergency brake on.
5. Put both palms on the steering wheel.
Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
303-455-2225
Denver Chiropractor, Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC discusses aspects of your auto insurance.
If are unfortunate enough to be in an accident and goto a doctor that is not trained in auto accidents, their report could potentialy ruin your case. The case is heavily dependent on the quality of the medical report, examination, and appropriate treatment.
Some of the most damaging auto crashes can happen at low speeds that seemingly do not cause much damage to the occupants. It is estimated that approximately 3 million whiplash occurrences happen each year. As a Denver chiropractor I see auto injury patients everyday that suffer from whiplash. Among Denver chiropractors, I have additional formal education in whiplash and auto injury from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. I completed the “Whiplash and Brain Traumatology” program taught by Dr. Arthur Croft DC, MS, MPH, FACO, who is one of the worlds foremost experts in auto injury.
As a graduate of this highly esteemed institute, I manage victims of motor vehicle trauma in order to achieve optimal clinical outcomes. Out of the 3 million whiplash victims, over half of these will experience long term or permanent pain or disability. Understandably, the victims rights must be protected through our law system. It is my job to properly and objectively document their case in a medico-legal fashion that is aligned with todays current research on the understanding of auto injuries.
In a 1996 study by Szabo and Welcher, where they conducted 10mph closing speed crashes, they found that the occupants would experience anywhere from 6.6 to 17.2 g force. Nasa astronauts experience 3g’s. More importantly, it is the time frame that vehicle’s occupant experiences this tremendous amount of acceleration. As you read this, you are experiencing 1 g, and in an auto rear end crash this can go up to 17.2 g’s in a fraction of a second. This time period makes it almost impossible for the body to react and compensate for the change in force.
As a consequence, the sudden change in force overcomes the ligaments viscoelastic properties and rupture or damage occurs.
Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
303-455-2225
