How safe is your car in an accident? Check Here
If you had an accident you would hope that your car rated well in a survey of crash tests and safety wouldnt you. After all, the more impact that your car absorbs-the less impact to you. But how does your car stack up when the researchers hit it from behind, in front and rolled in several times?
To find out see this link from the IIHS:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
Also see how you can decrease your risk of whiplash by over 40 % by a simple adjustment of your car seat
Whiplash-what not to do in the first 3 months
My 5 top tips to have a pain free neck when driving
Read MoreWhiplash Injuries- The Facts
image from sharenote.com
Here is a comprehensive report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that not only tells you what happens during a whiplash injury but also how you can prevent it and what factors lessen the severity of a neck injury. This is a must read.
Whiplash and whiplash-associated disorders describe a range of neck injuries related to sudden distortions of the neck that commonly occur in rear-end crashes. The most common symptom reported by whiplash victims is pain due to mild muscle strain or minor tearing of soft tissue. Other injuries include nerve damage, disc damage, and in the most severe cases ruptures of ligaments in the neck and fractures of the cervical vertebrae. Minor whiplash injuries generally are associated with pain and decreased range of motion in the head and neck. These symptoms usually last only a short time, but occasionally they last longer and include headaches, dizziness, and tingling in the arms. The physical injury to create symptoms of whiplash is uncertain. It is suspected that the biological cause of long-term whiplash symptoms is nerve damage while short-term pain may be a minor strain or sprain.
People can experience severe crashes with no neck injury if there is little or no movement of the head relative to the torso. Consequently, neck distortion resulting from sudden movement of the head relative to the torso probably explains most whiplash injuries. Hyperextension of the neck, or rearward bending beyond its normal range of motion, may explain many whiplash injuries, but experimental and field studies suggest that nerve damage and associated long-term symptoms can occur with milder levels of neck distortion. One hypothesis is that nerve damage is caused by motion of adjacent neck vertebrae during a crash. Another hypothesis suggests that the nerve damage is caused by fluctuation in spinal fluid pressure arising from neck distortions.
Neck sprains and strains are the most frequently reported injuries in US insurance claims. In 2007, an estimated 66 percent of all insurance claimants under bodily injury liability coverage and 57 percent under personal injury protection coverage — two important insurance injury coverages — reported minor neck injuries. For 43 and 34 percent of bodily injury liability and personal injury protection claimants, respectively, neck sprains or strains were the most serious injuries reported. The cost of the claims in which neck pain was the most serious injury was about $8.8 billion, representing approximately 25 percent of the total dollars paid for all crash injuries combined.
Whiplash injuries can be sustained in any type of crash but occur most often in rear-end collisions. Based on National Automotive Sampling System data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that there were 805,581 whiplash injuries occurring annually between 1988 and 1996. Of these injuries, NHTSA estimated that 272,464 occurred as a result of a rear impact. A 1999 Institute study found that 26 percent of drivers of rear-struck vehicles reported neck injuries to their insurance company. This was about the same as the 24 percent neck injury rate reported in a 1972 Institute study. Estimates of neck injury rates in other studies have ranged from 7 to 37 percent, depending on whether police or motorists reported the information.
3 What happens to occupants when their vehicles are struck from the rear?
When a vehicle is struck from the rear it is accelerated forward, causing the seatback to push against the occupant’s torso and propel it forward. The unsupported head lags behind the torso until the neck reaches its limit of distortion. Then the head is suddenly accelerated by the neck much like the tip of a whip; hence the term whiplash. Head restraints limit the neck distortion by pushing the head forward with the torso.
4 Why do vehicles have headrests?
What many motorists refer to as a headrest is actually a head restraint. It is a common misconception that restraints are comfort features. Head restraints are an essential safety feature like lap/shoulder belts. Effective head restraints help move an occupant’s head forward with the body in a rear-end crash and decrease the likelihood of sustaining a whiplash injury. A 2002 Public Attitude Monitor survey asked participants to identify the main purpose of a head restraint; 67 percent correctly identified safety, while 13 percent said comfort and another 15 percent did not know.
5 What factors influence the severity of neck injury?
The majority of studies on whiplash have focused on adult front-seat occupants. Unless otherwise noted, the following facts pertain to persons sitting up front.
Height: According to German research, height is a risk factor for neck injury, particularly among females. Shorter people often are protected by unadjusted head restraints. Stature may not play as big a role in the severity of injuries among males because many head restraints are too low to protect even shorter males. Taller motorists who do not adjust their head restraints are more likely to sustain whiplash injuries.
Gender: The same German report found females to be 1.8 to 2.2 times more at risk of neck injury in all types of collisions, a finding consistent with research by the Institute and other organizations. A Swedish study found that females with whiplash injuries were more likely to develop long-term symptoms. Fifty-five percent of females who sustained whiplash injuries went on to develop long-term symptoms compared with 38 percent of males. The risk of disability for drivers has been shown to be three times higher for females than for males; in rear seats, females’ risk is four times higher. One possible explanation is that males have more neck musculature than females for about the same size head. The Institute studied insurance data and found female drivers in a rear-end crash were more likely than male drivers to report a neck injury.
Seating position: It is uncertain which seating position exposes an occupant to the greatest chance of neck injury. One study concluded that drivers have a higher risk of injury than passengers. It was hypothesized that drivers are prone to move forward and away from the seatback as they reach for the steering wheel and observe traffic around them, whereas passengers usually are more relaxed and lean further back in their seats, with their heads closer to the restraint.
Research studies are inconsistent in their findings of neck injury risk for front and rear seat passengers. One study found that rear seat passengers, are less likely than front seat occupants to sustain neck injuries. Another study found that the risk of neck injury among females was lowest in the front passenger seat and significantly higher in the rear. The same study found that injury risk for males was higher in the front seat than in the rear seat.
Vehicle size/weight: The size and weight of the struck and striking vehicles may influence neck injury risk. A study of insurance claims found that drivers struck by vehicles heavier than the one they were driving were more likely to claim neck injuries than drivers struck by vehicles of approximately equal or lesser weight.Drivers of rear-struck cars were more likely to claim a neck injury than drivers of rear-struck SUVs.
Seat/head restraint geometry: Restraints can be classified into one of four geometric zones defined by their height and backset (distance from the back of the head to the front of the restraint). Based on these factors, the Institute assigns ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. Institute research has shown that vehicles with good rated geometric head restraints have 24 percent lower driver neck injury rates than vehicles with poor rated restraints.
6 Do head restraints have to meet government standards?
Yes. Since Jan. 1, 1969, NHTSA under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 202 has mandated head restraints in the front outboard seats of all new passenger cars. On Sept. 1, 1991, head restraint standards were extended to pickups, vans, and SUVs. Manufacturers may install either of two types of restraints. The first is an integral head restraint with a seatback that is high enough to meet the head restraint height requirement. The second type is an adjustable head restraint consisting of a cushion attached to the seatback by sliding metal shafts. Adjustable restraints must be adjustable to the same height as fixed restraints. Adjustable restraints can be moved and sometimes locked at different heights; some also can be adjusted horizontally to change the distance between the back of the head and restraint.
In December 2004, NHTSA upgraded FMVSS 202 to require head restraints that are higher and closer to the back of people’s heads. The new height requirements for front and rear seat head restraints are similar to the ones mandated in the European Union.
FMVSS 202 establishes a minimum of 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip to the top of a head restraint. This compares with 27.5 inches under the previous rule. Adjustable restraints in their lowest (down) position must be at least 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip; the previous rule did not specify a minimum height for adjustable restraints. Another change is that all adjustable restraints must lock once in position. Under the previous rule, the amount of space between the back of an occupant’s head and the head restraint (backset) was not regulated. Now the backset must be 2.2 inches or less. Manufacturer compliance began Sept.1, 2009, under a phase-in schedule that requires all new vehicles to meet the rule by September 2010.
Head restraints will not be required in rear seats, but if they are voluntarily installed they must meet a height requirement. Fixed restraints in rear seats must be at least 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip, and adjustable restraints cannot be adjusted below 29.5 inches. There will not be a backset requirement for head restraints installed in rear seats. The phase-in schedule for rear head restraints begins Sept. 1, 2010, with all vehicles complying by September 2011.
7 How should my head restraint be positioned?
To reduce the likelihood of sustaining a whiplash injury in a crash, head restraints should be positioned high enough to protect the head so as to minimize neck distortion. A head restraint should be positioned at least as high as the head’s center of gravity, or about 3.5 inches below the top of the head. Because people differ in height, the amount of adjustment varies. For some occupants, no adjustment from the lowest position is required. The distance from the back of the head to the restraint should be as small as possible, preferably less than 4 inches. On seats without horizontally adjusting head restraints, this can be achieved by adjusting the seatback recline angle.
The best exercises to do for neck pain and especially disc bulges, pinched nerves and whiplash are the McKenzie Neck exercises
Read MoreWhiplash Injuries-what NOT TO DO in the 1st 3 months after an accident
When it comes to whiplash injuries you need to do the correct rehab as quickly as possible. A part of doing the correct things is making sure you don’t do incorrect things. Here is an exerpt from the MAA in Australia from their research-based booklet on the best treatments, neck exercises and things that they recommmend you do not do in the first 3 months after a whiplash injury.
Here they are:
Cervical pillows
The use of commercially-made contoured pillows is not recommended as
there is no evidence to prove their usefulness.
Bed rest
A period of bed rest is not recommended for people with WAD
Grade 1. People with WAD Grades 2 and 3 should not have bed
rest for more than four days.
12
Collars
The use of a collar, sometimes called a neck brace, should not be
prescribed for WAD. If they are prescribed, they should not be used
for more than 48 hours.
Spray and stretch
Spraying the muscle with a cold spray followed by muscle stretching
is not recommended. There is no evidence this technique works.
Steroid injections
Injecting steroids are not recommended for WAD Grades 1 and 2. Steroid
injections may be used for WAD Grade 3. Repeated steroid injections
may cause harm.
Injections of local anaesthetic or sterile water
The injection of local anaesthetic or sterile water into nearby nerves
is not recommended in the early stages of WAD.
Magnetic necklaces
Wearing a magnetic necklace is not recommended. There is no evidence
to prove their usefulness.
Pilates, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique,
massage and homeopathy
These techniques are not recommended for the first 12 weeks.
There is no evidence to show they work during this period.
Whiplash-your most important protection against it
Stretching- Here is one of the worst to do
Which exercises should you do for a pinched nerve
The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain
The Best pillows-What the Studies Say
Neck Exercises-The best and Worst to do and Why
Read MoreWhiplash Accidents-Your most important protection against them
How do you protect yourself against whiplash?
Whiplash can occur at less than 10mph and the forces can be up to 15G. Whiplash can do major damage so the best thing you can do is to protect yourself against it.
The most important part of your car to protect your neck from whiplash is your head restraint. It’s often called a headrest which is probably why we don’t think of it as much more than just something to rest our heads against when we are tired and waiting for the lights to change. However, this little thing behind your head is vital in protecting your neck. The height is vital and also is the distance it is from the back of your head.
If you have the head restraint too far away from your head your percentages of getting a whiplash injury go up enormously. This is because if you are hit from behind the head restraint is far away it cannot do its job. Likewise, if your head restraint is too low your head will snap right over the top of it.
Before you drive in your car the next time make sure you check the position of your head restraint. If not, you could be very sorry. An easy way to check is that your head restraint should be no more than 4 finger widths from the back of your head.
The top of a head restraint should reach at least as high as the top of your ear.
Drive Safely.
Read MoreWhiplash, Neck Pain and Soft Collars-should you use them?
Scenario: you have a car accident, you have whiplash, you have neck pain, you go to the doctor and he recommends pain killers and a soft collar to be worn for the next month. What is wrong with this picture? Everything.
It used to be common practice for doctors to prescribe the use of soft collars for a month, 2 months or more based on the premise that protecting the area will allow the area to heal and therefore make you better. Unfortunately, this thought process is wrong. The use of a soft collar should be minimal at most. If you leave your neck in a soft collar for an extended length of time your neck can get worse not better. The same applies to all of your joints. Any of you who have had perhaps a sprained ankle for example will know that a physiotherapist will ask you to start moving it as soon as possible in a pain free range of movement. If it is still too sore you will be asked to do isotonic exercises( putting load on the tendons and ligaments without the actual joint moving) to make the structures heal more quickly. You want to have a strong and flexible repair and that is exactly why you should start a stretching and strengthening program as soon as the inflammatory phase has finished.(normally within the first 2-3 days)
Your neck ladies and gentlemen is no different. If you leave your neck static, bound up in a collar, muscles and other soft tissues atrophy (waste away) and the joints stiffen. The same is with your sprained ankle, lock it up with tape for a month and you will come out of that tape MUCH WORSE than the person who got their joint and soft tissues moving almost straight after their injury.
In a nutshell, if you have neck pain you need to get it moving as soon as possible (as pain permits). Here are some related studies showing what the medical community now knows:
From netdoctor.co.uk on ‘What Causes Whiplash?’
“Research has shown that whiplash patients who rest for several weeks and wear a soft collar actually recover more slowly than those who try to follow a normal routine.”
And from patient.co.uk in ‘Whiplash Neck Strain’:
“In the past, some people have worn a neck collar for long periods after a whiplash sprain, and have been reluctant to move their neck. Studies have shown that you are more likely to make a quicker recovery if you do regular neck exercises, and keep your neck active rather than resting it for long periods in a collar.”
And from ‘The Enigma of Whiplash Injury’ by W.F Young:
“Mealy and associates, in a prospective randomized trial comparing use of a soft cervical collar and analgesic medications with a regimen of active therapy, found that the group treated actively had significant improvement in both neck pain and mobility compared with the group treated with a soft collar.”
The American Academy of Orthopedic surgeon’s reports:
“In the past, whiplash injuries were often treated with immobilization in a cervical collar. However, the current trend is to encourage early movement, rather than immobilization. The soft collar may be used for a short term and on an intermittent basis.”
“In a third prospective randomized study… Patients encouraged to remain at their normal level of activity had a better outcome than patients treated with immobilization and time off from work.”
Once again, it’s vitally important to get your joints(s) moving as soon as possible after the initial inflammatory phase to encourage proper scar tissue formation, decrease your healing time and have a strong and flexible joint to allow you to get back to your full range of activities and enjoy life to the fullest.
Stretching- Here is one of the worst to do
Which exercises should you do for a pinched nerve
The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain
The Best pillows-What the Studies Say
Neck Exercises-The best and Worst to do and Why
Read MoreAbout Me
Mark Perren-Jones has worked throughout the world’s health spas and health clinics. He did the majority of his study (7 years) in Australia and has treated thousands of clients over the past 20 years with all sorts of neck and back problems. He has studied acupuncture, massage, joint manipulation and mobilization, kinesiology, reflexology, Thai massage, Bowen technique and many other modalities to understand which therapies gets the best therapeutic results and which don’t for particular neck and back problems.
With his 20 years of clinical experience, years of diligent study and research Mark has put together this site so that you can benefit directly from his work. You will be taught not only how to treat your own pain but as importantly what causes your pain in the first place. With the knowledge you gain to remove the causes of your neck and back pain, means you will not have to suffer anymore. 
I have my new DVD out now which will show you in my easy 3 step approach how to alleviate your own neck pain.
Neck pain and especially stiff necks are not difficult to treat once you know how ( ie.remove the major causes of your neck pain and stiffness.)
I will show you how simple it is to treat your neck pain & stiffness both quickly and easily.