Post-traumatic upper cervical subluxation visualized by MRI: a case report
Journal of Chiropratic and Osteopathy. 2007 Dec 19;15:20.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18093309
In this paper we follow a 21-year-old female that was in a head-on collision where a truck traveling at 55mph struck the front left corner of her car while she was going 45 mph. The female patient was knocked unconscious as the speeds of the collision are added together and come out to roughly a 100mph accident! That energy travels directly through the car and into your body. This is why an Upper Cervical Chiropractic specialist should be consulted directly after a patient is cleared for fractures and serious soft tissue injury.
Paramedics rushed her to the Emergency Room where they proceeded to take x-rays of her neck (2D of bone) and a CT of her neck (3D of bone). The reports came back negative. She didn’t have any fractures or large tears or bleeds that they could see so they gave her a referral for a neurologist whom she saw quickly and sent her home with migraine medication.
Two days after the car accident, she rates her head and neck pain 9 on a scale of 1-10, and she is suffering from dizziness and incredible restriction in her neck. The chiropractor checks her spine by checking range of motion and doing orthopedic exams, which find a positive Valsalva test and some positive neurologic findings. The chiropractor noticed that the muscles in the patient’s neck were very stiff and that something wasn’t quite adding up. The Chiropractor took flexion/extension x-rays to look for soft tissue injuries in the cervical spine and those came back negative. So next he referred her out for an MRI of the Cervical spine and found a Syrinx (central spinal cord injury) from C2-C7, a left alar ligament with a left lateral translation of C1 vertebra under the occiput (Because the Alar ligament checks lateral movement of C1), and a Myodural bridge injury between the sub occipital muscle called the Rectus Capitus Posterior Minor (RCPMi) and the spinal cord (because RCPMi) was in spasm. Sometimes it takes a great investigator to get to the bottom of what’s happening in a cervical whiplash injury. Upper Cervical chiropractors are great at getting to the bottom of these types of problems!
Immediately the Chiropractor gently corrected the position of C1 and put the patient on a care plan of three visits per week for six weeks. At the end of six weeks the patient had a 75% reduction in symptoms. After six months under conservative Chiropractic care the patient had a complete resolution of symptoms! So if you have been struggling with symptoms like headaches, dizziness, neck pain, or low back pain after a whiplash accident, reach out to the closest Upper Cervical Chiropractor to you!
Arete Chiropractic: (603) 380-9184 Office@aretechiro.com www.aretechiro.com
