Whiplash!
It's a pain in the neck!
How the Dorn Method could help you with this.
Most of us think of a whiplash injury mainly happening when we experience a car/motor vehicle accident, but there are many other ways we can suffer from a whiplash injury. We can also incur whiplash from accidents like falling off a bike or off a horse or even playing rough types of sportslike rugby, boxing or the martial arts, when the head and neck are easily subjected to a harsh blow.
Whiplash is a collection of symptoms
rather than just one. It occurs when
we experience a sudden, fast,
forward and backward jerking movement of the
neck. This causes the muscles and ligaments in
the neck to overstretch and is usually because of
a powerful strike or force coming from behind,
just as in a car/motor vehicle accident.
What tends to happen when whiplash occurs?
When involved in a motor vehicle accident, for
example, the person or persons involved will
have their body pushed forward whilst their head
tends to stay where it is for a brief moment. As
this happens, it causes the head to move in a
rocking type of movement and therefore causes
over-stretching and even tearing of some of the
muscles, tendons and ligaments. As all this is
happening, the muscles then try to bring the head
back into line with the body as quickly as it can
by bringing the head forwards. This sometimes
then causes over-stretching in the opposite
direction; hence the whiplash effect.
This causes the muscles, tendons and
ligaments to become damaged by the tearing and the vertebrae can easily be pulled out of
alignment or damaged as a result.
Note: As the average person’s head weighs
between eight and twelve pounds, the whiplash
would cause a considerable amount of force to
be placed on the small bones (vertebrae) of the
neck.
What are the symptoms of whiplash?
Someone who has whiplash will most probably
experience some or all of these symptoms: pain
and stiffness in the neck, headaches, shoulder
pain and some temporary loss of neck
movement. Some other symptoms that may be
experienced by people who have experienced
whiplash are: lower back pain, numbness in the
arms or hands, dizziness, fatigue, difficulty with
swallowing, blurred vision, ringing in the ears
(rather like tinnitus) and sleeping problems.
A whiplash injury may only develop 24 hours
after the accident and will most likely become
worse over the following few days. Most
symptoms should clear after about four weeks
but some people can experience problems many
months later. It has been noted that if whiplash is
left untreated it can have a major effect on a
person’s quality of life and even cause disability.
This is where the Dorn Method could help
people in this situation. For instance, the pain
could easily be caused by misaligned or rotated
vertebrae in the neck pressing onto the spinal
nerves, especially the first and second vertebrae
below the skull – C1/C2 or otherwise named the
Atlas/Axis. These specially designed vertebrae
have the tremendous job of carrying the weight of
our skull while also forming the joint that connects
our skull to the spine. These vertebrae help the
head to rotate to the right and left along with
being responsible for nodding type of
movements.
The Dorn Method’s unique neck-alignment
technique does not involve any harsh or jerky
movements to get these vertebrae back into their
correct position. As always, the Dorn Method is a
very gentle therapy which uses muscle distraction
techniques. These techniques fool the brain and
muscles into thinking that the body is moving in a
normal way, therefore relaxing and letting go of
the spine. This allows the Dorn Method therapist
to then make the necessary corrections without
any pain to the patient.
If you have experienced any of the above you
should first consult your doctor for a complete
medical examination. If your symptoms are ongoing
and you wish to seek Complementary
Healthcare then the Dorn Method could help you
with this problem.
© 2013
Article by Paul Knowles,
Adv Dorn Method Practitioner
www.dornmethodnottingham.co.uk
