Acupuncture and the Treatment of Whiplash

Recent research published in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine found that Acupuncture was highly effective in decreasing the pain associated with the injury.

What is Whiplash? Whiplash is a common injury for drivers in all countries. Whiplash occurs when the impact of a motor vehicle accident causes the body to lunge forward until it is stopped by the seat belt that the person is hopefully wearing. When the seat belt catches and stops the body the head unfortunately continues to travel forward until it reaches the end point of its flexion or forward bending ability. At this point the musculoskeletal soft tissue is then damaged. There can be ligamentous damage as well as damage to the muscles which support the neck. Whiplash injuries can also be sustained in sports like soccer, snowboarding and skiing, boxing, or other high impact events as well some people with severe sneezing fits can also have whiplash injuries.

According to the European Journal of Integrative Medicine the following was evaluated:

“Methodology Forty participants were randomly allocated to an acupuncture group or a waiting-list group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture treatment three times per week for 2 weeks. Symptoms were evaluated before random allocation and after 2 weeks. The primary outcome measure was pain intensity. Secondary outcome measures were the SF-36, cervical range of motion (ROM), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Cornell Medical Index (CMI). Conclusions Acupuncture treatment was associated with a significant alleviation of pain” (Hyun-Young et al).

This well developed study shows the clear success of treating whiplash pain and its rehabilitation with Acupuncture. One of the greatest and most precious aspects of Acupuncture is how effective it really is, proven over and over again through clinical studies. Musculoskeletal injuries are especially responsive to Acupuncture therapy.

Any person who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident with minor injuries should really be trying to get treated with Acupuncture as soon as they are cleared from serious injury from the Emergency Department. The same goes for those who have been injured in sports or other non-life threatening injuries.

Works Cited

Hyun-Young Kwak, Jong-In Kim, Ji-Min Park, Sang-Hoon Lee, Hong-Suk Yu, Jae-

Dong Lee, Ki-Ho Cho, Shuichi Katai, Hiroshi Tsukayama, Tomoaki Kimura,

Do-Young Choi, Acupuncture for Whiplash-associated disorder: A

randomized, waiting-list controlled, pilot trial, European Journal of

Integrative Medicine, Available online 9 January 2012, ISSN 1876-3820,

10.1016/j.eujim.2011.12.008.   (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876382011001843)