Whiplash Injuries In Paterson NJ From Minor Auto Accidents

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Whiplash Injuries In Paterson, NJ from Minor Auto Accidents

So you just had a minor fender-bender more than a week ago and now your neck is really killing you. Not all whiplash injuries in Paterson, NJ are the result of violently being rear-ended or hitting another vehicle head-on where the evidence of neck injury is immediately apparent. It can take several days to a few weeks for minor injuries to the neck to fully manifest the extent of the trauma to your neck. This is why it is vital to substantiate any minor accident involving the whipping of the neck in case further down the road it is medically apparent the whiplash is a result of last month’s minor car accident.

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Many factors play into these low velocity whiplash injuries to the neck. What was the position of your head just as the impact happened? Were you looking straight ahead, to the side, or even craning your neck to look behind you all play into how extensive and what treatments a chiropractor will need to know before beginning treatment. This is why the above documentation is so vital and should always be written down by first responders to any minor accident. Just backing out of a parking lot with your head and neck twisted to look behind you can produce a very significant whiplash in the event another vehicle hits you at low speed.

Modern cars are engineered with what are referred to as “crumple zones”. These are areas where studies of thousands of accidents have revealed the most likely areas of a vehicle to be damaged in an accident. They are meant to absorb as much of any low and high speed impact as possible so less force is transferred to the occupants of the vehicle. They do work but are not always a good indicator of how much actual force the occupants suffered in the accident. Major spinal and neck injuries can result even though the crumple zone “appears” to have taken the brunt of any impact.

Perhaps the best way to look to any type of upper spine and neck injury is the position of the headrest. If the headrest is too low to support any whipping motion of the neck then whiplash is much more likely. Always adjust your headrest to the proper height for maximum protection in the event you are hit from behind by another vehicle. This will limit the amount of movement your head and neck travel before coming in contact with support from the headrest.

After any minor vehicle accident always seek medical diagnosis. Whiplash injuries in Paterson, NJ from minor accidents can take days to weeks to become fully apparent. You will definitely want to have a record of this initial diagnosis in the event further medical treatment is required.

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