Whiplash |
Whiplash injury is the most common injury suffered from a motor vehicle accident. Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissue of the neck, also referred to as neck sprain or neck strain. It is often caused by a sudden forceful movement of the neck, but with no direct contact to the neck. It may include injury to the joints, discs, ligaments, cervical muscles, and nerve roots. Acupuncture is one possible treatment for this type of injury.
Hyperextension of the neck upon impact results in a number of capillaries and tissue fibers being broken, which, if left alone, can cause scar tissue development. In many cases, abnormalities can not be viewed upon x-ray and there is no visible injury. As a result, the seriousness of an injury is often initially overlooked.
Symptoms of Whiplash
People who experience whiplash may report experiencing one or more symptoms. Symptoms can occur immediately after the accident, or may appear several days or even weeks later:
Neck pain
Shoulder pain and stiffness
Headaches
Low back pain
Sensations such as burning or "pins and needles"
Irritability
Poor sleep
Fatigue
Difficulty with concentration or memory
Depression
Dizziness/Light-headedness
Pain or numbness in the arm and/or hand
Ringing in the ears
Blurred vision
Whiplash pain?
New medical research shows that acupuncture for low back pain can make a big difference in alleviating the symptoms of a whiplash injury. It is also a reasonably-priced treatment that most people have access to without a General Practitioner referral.
There has been much debate about acupuncture and its ability to relieve serious back pain, but the recent studies published online at http://www.bmj.com (the website for the British Medical Journal)
suggest a course of acupuncture is exactly the kind of thing a back pain sufferer needs to set them right.
Up to 80 % of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Lower back pain, upper back pain and neck pain are often reported by people who have had a car accident and experienced whiplash.
The World Health Organisation recommends acupuncture for more than 40 conditions including asthma and chronic pain, and a National Institutes of Health panel found acupuncture to be a good treatment for several pain conditions including fibromyalgia, musculoskeletal pain and whiplash.
The causes of neck pain are varied, especially for chronic pain is more complicated, but generally speaking the most common causes are included:
1. Muscle strain, muscle stiffness, muscle tension,
2. Whiplash form a car accident,
3. Poor posture, limited movement of neck,
4. Wrong or sudden movement,
5. Arthritis in cervical joints,
6. Stress, emotional change, anxiety, depression,
7. Disc problem: degenerative disc or herniated disc, bulging disc,
8. Physical disorders: swelling, tumors, inflammation, disease, etc.
Except for neck pain, in many cases the numbness and tingling sensation of arms, pinched nerve, muscle weakness, headache, migraine, ear pain are also the common complains.
Acupuncture has been proven a natural and effective method to relieve acute and chronic pain. Researches suggest acupuncture offers a great result in degenerative disorders such as spondylosis and cervical spondylosis, especially for people do not response well for the traditional western medicines.
Through the adjustment of the flow of Qi and blood, acupuncture and Chinese medicine naturally improve the circulation, remove the stagnation, reduce the inflammation, rejuvenate and muscle and disc and free pain.
New Port Richey Acupuncture Specializes in Back pain, low back pain, arthritis, sciatica, pinched nerve, joint pain, knee pain, foot pain, bell’s palsy, arthritis, planta faciatis, shoulder pain, neck pain, ankle pain, leg pain, hand pain, wrist pain, carpal tunnel syndrome.
Constant movement of the neck, along with its position and the number of structures within it, make it particular vulnerable to problems, which includes:
Locked Neck - Movement of neck limited
Neck Rigidity - Stiffness and pain on movement
Wry Neck - An abnormality in the head's position
Net Swelling - Swelling of any of the structures in the neck.
Whiplash Injury - symptoms may occur immediately or may be delayed for some time: they include pain, stiffness in the neck, headaches, impaired vision, and weakness.
Locked Neck - Overstrain of ligaments or muscle spasms caused by a an awkward or sudden movement, often occurring during sleep.
Neck Rigidity - Caused by neck muscle spasms. Wry Neck - Caused by permanent twisting of the neck, possibly due to muscle damage sustained at birth, a whiplash injury, or a visual problems.
Whiplash Injury - A sudden force (such as a car collision) causes a violent bending of the neck in one direction, followed by relax muscle contraction which throws the neck in the opposite direction. The ligaments connecting the vertebrae are stretched or torn , causing prolonged pain and disability.
Acupuncture is generally the most effective and safest treatment for neck pain, especially for whiplash residuals. It relieves the muscle spasms and pain promptly. Most neck problems can be effectively treated by acupuncture together with acupressure treatment in 6 to 12 treatments.
Acupressure of the muscles of the neck will reduce the spasm of the muscle itself, which lessens pain, and also the traction applied by the contracted muscle at its attachment to other structures The ultimate result is relief of pain, together with overall relaxation and a sense of well-being which in turn enhances the level of pain relief.
Herbs can help bring relief for many health issues including neck pain.
What can acupuncture do for neck pain?
Studies have shown acupuncture to be effective in relieving certain types of neck pain, particularly those caused by whiplash. Some studies suggest acupuncture can treat degenerative neck disorders such as ankylosing spondylosis and cervical spondylosis; in many cases, acupuncture has worked for patients whose conditions could not be solved using conventional approaches.
Acupressure and herbal medicine are sometimes used in conjunction with acupuncture for neck pain. Applying acupressure to the neck muscles can reduce spasm and lessen pain, leading to a relaxed state and a heightened sense of well-being. Depending on the patient's condition, certain herbal products can be used to improve circulation and blood flow and ease muscle contraction.
References
The results of a randomized trial of neck pain patients published in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal, however, appear to suggest otherwise. According to a team of German and Swedish researchers, acupuncture provides greater short-term pain relief and increases range of motion better than traditional massage techniques.
"Our study shows that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for chronic neck pain, if the objective is to relieve pain and to improve mobility of the cervical spine
Results
Individuals treated with acupuncture reported greater reductions in pain both immediately after the first and last treatments, and one week after the last treatment, than those treated with massage. Patients in the acupuncture group improved an average of 24.22 points on pain related to motion one week after treatment, compared to only 7.89 points for massage patients. These differences were even more distinct among patients with myofascial pain syndrome (a condition characterized by muscle pain in specific areas of the neck that may be caused by physical or emotional tension) and patients who reported pain lasting more than five years
Acupuncture for neck disorders
Acupuncture for neck pain. Neck pain is one of the three most frequently reported complaints of the musculoskeletal system. Treatments for neck pain are varied, as are the perceptions of benefits. Acupuncture is sometimes used as an alternative to more traditional treatments for musculoskeletal pain. In this review it was defined as the stimulation of one or more specific points on the body, by the insertion of needles, to achieve a desirable effect. Acupuncture typically includes manual stimulation of needles, but there are commonly used variations, such as electrical stimulation or heat stimulation of the needles, which is called moxibustion [the moxa herb, Artemisia vulgaris, is burned at the handle end of the needle]. acupuncture point injections, in which herbal extracts are injected into acupuncture points, is occasionally used as well.
Individuals with chronic neck pain who received acupuncture reported, on average, better pain relief immediately after treatment and in the short-term than those who received sham treatments.
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