Seattle Auto Accident Injury

Feb15

Vehicle damage vs. passenger injury

Posted in: Uncategorized

suvAt Evergreen Chiropractic, we take injuries seriously—especially injuries sustained in auto accidents. The fact is, even in cases where a vehicle shows little damage from a collision, there can be serious physical consequences for the occupants inside.

Dr. Ian Macnab, an esteemed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Toronto, explained that “the amount of damage sustained by the car bears little relationship to the force applied.” In other words, even if one’s car looks relatively unscathed following an accident, the passengers inside may be detrimentally affected by the impact. In his chapter, “Acceleration Extension Injuries of the Cervical Spine” (Chapter 10 in THE SPINE by Rothman and Simeone, 1982), Macnab gives an extreme example to illustrate the difference between vehicle damage and passenger injury:

If the [hypothetical] car was struck in concrete, the damage sustained might be very great but the occupants would not be injured because the car could not move forward, whereas, on ice, the damage to the car could be slight but the injuries sustained might be severe because of the rapid accelerations permitted. (648)

Bottom line: if you have been in a car accident, you should be checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, even if your car looks “fine” and you might not be experiencing any pain at the moment. Pain is often the last symptom of a misaligned spine.

Take care of your spine and take control of your health.

We’ve got your back.

Evergreen Chiropractic

1666 E Olive Way

Seattle, WA 98102

(206) 323-1666

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