A stroke with the car, even if it is a small one, can significantly affect the cervical spine, that is, the highest part of the spine consisting of a set of seven vertebrae, called the cervical vertebrae. Next Sunday is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and, in this context, we offer this new entry on our health blog, in order to learn how to recover from whiplash following a the road.
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First, let’s define what is commonly referred to as whiplash. “Whiplash syndrome (CSL) is caused by a sudden mechanism of hyperextension and hyperflexion of the cervical spine”, as explained by Dr. Juan García Regal, specialist in traumatology and orthopedic surgery at Ribera Hospital Santa Justa (Extremadura), which points out that pain in the cervical spine is the most frequent symptom, followed by headache.
The head of the physiotherapy service at the Ribera de Molina Hospital, Ana María Dasí, says that “when we talk regarding whiplash, the most normal thing is that there are no longer any sequelae or that they are minimal . However, the existence of previous pathologies, an erroneous diagnosis or an incorrect or non-existent cure can lead to chronic pain and later complications. Fortunately, only 10% of cases become chronic and sentence the patient to lifelong pain,” he explains.
Whiplash Symptoms
Victoria Sotos, head of rehabilitation at Vinalopó University Hospital, says there is a scale that ranks these symptoms from 0 to IV, depending on the symptoms and associated injuries. He agrees with Dr. García Regal that the most common are neck pain with intense muscle contracture and headaches, “which may combine nausea, vomiting and transient visual disturbances, as well as ringing in the ears (tinnitus ), pain in the temporomandibular joint (in the jaw, when chewing) and, in some cases, memory and concentration disorders as well as sleep disorders”. He also adds that if the injury is more serious and there is a fracture or an acute herniated disc occurs, “neurological symptoms such as radiculopathy or even spinal cord injury can occur”.
Dasí also adds dizziness or a feeling of imbalance, weakness and lack of strength, lower back pain caused by immobilization of the pelvis with the seat belt while the trunk moves freely, blockage of the sacrum and decreased mobility of the thoracolumbar joint, paresthesias, dysfunctions of the temporomandibular joint, anxiety. “These are symptoms that appear between the first and 72 hours following the accident”, Therefore, all the professionals of the Ribera Health Group consulted agree in emphasizing the importance of going to the hospital following an accident . “It’s important to get a quick and accurate diagnosis,” says Dr. García Regal.
Rehabilitation in case of cervical injury
“The objective of rehabilitation is to improve symptoms, facilitate the rapid recovery of the patient and avoid sequelae”, explains Dr. Noelia García, from the rehabilitation department of the University Hospital of Torrejón, who recommends massage therapy, physiotherapy, analgesic electrotherapy as well as stretching exercises and subsequent strengthening of the shoulder girdle and cervical muscles to recover from this type of injury.
For Adrián Ventero, supervisor of the physiotherapy unit of the Dénia Ministry of Health, the role of the physiotherapist following a whiplash “is fundamental both in the acute phase and weeks following the impact, because, although a bone lesion has been excluded, there is almost always a soft tissue involvement (muscles, tendons, ligaments)”. In these cases, he adds, physiotherapy is the most comprehensive specialty to treat this type of trauma.
Dr. Sotos and Dr. García Regal also highlight the benefits of treatment with analgesics and anti-inflammatories, to deal with the initial pain, always on medical prescription. But for Dr. Sotos, rehabilitation “has undoubtedly proven to be the most effective treatment, since, in the biopsychosocial approach model, physical treatment offers the most advantages, without neglecting other aspects such as as medical pain control or psychotherapy if necessary. And in addition to the therapies indicated by Dr. García, from the Torrejón Hospital, Dr. Sotos also highlights analgesic electrotherapy techniques, deep heat, specific exercise, sometimes myofascial release techniques and dry puncture. In later phases, he adds, for the treatment of sequelae, manipulation and neuromodulation techniques can be used, among others. All of this, he recalls, “must be adapted to the patient’s symptomatology and characteristics”.
The head of physiotherapy in the Denia region also points out that to prevent future sequelae “it is very important to do active exercises with the aim of strengthening the most weakened segments”. The medical director of the Ribera Polusa Hospital, Carlos Porrúa, for his part, emphasizes the importance of “recovering muscle functions and for this there is no better treatment than active exercise”. “With this, deformed muscles are strengthened and flexed, and the most recommended exercises are usually isometric enhancement and stretching. »
Exercises to overcome this resistance.
Muscle stretching restores elasticity and lengthens the muscles.
For Dr. Ignacio Valenciano, head of the trauma unit at Ribera Juan Cardona Hospital, “in the absence of structural damage, such as fractures or nerve damage that may require surgical treatment, it is best to manipulate them with a flexible collar for a period not exceeding 1 week, combined with anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, then the use of physiotherapy and local heat. »
All the hospitals of the Ribera Health Group are prepared to take care of patients who have suffered a traffic accident, but in particular the private hospitals of Ribera Santa Justa, Ribera Hospital de Molina, Ribera Povisa and Ribera Polusa have units to fight once morest road accidents made up of teams which patients can go there for free, even without insurance, since it is the insurers (with the compulsory insurance policy for each vehicle) who bear the entire cost of the processing.
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