Whiplash comes with associated disorders

By Lee Sung-hun

A few weeks ago, a female patient in her 30s visited my clinic due to pain caused from a fender bender accident. Apparently, she was in a stationary car at a red light when a car bumped into the rear of her vehicle. The bump itself was a minor one, and without any visible injuries, she carried on with her normal activities. However, as days passed, she started feeling stiffness in her neck, and pain in her back which she had never experienced before. An X-ray examination did not show any abnormalities. This is quite a common occurrence for us because there are reportedly 19 million cars in Korea with an average of 612 car accidents per day last year.

Such injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents (MVA) are referred to as Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). Due to the sudden acceleration or deceleration of a vehicle involved in an accident, the unsupported head of a driver or passenger can rapidly accelerate and then decelerate, like the crack of a whip. Such sudden motion puts strain on the muscles, bones and nerves which can cause various injuries ranging from damages to soft tissue to fractured bones. WAD refers to such symptoms generally in the neck and the head, or in severe cases, the entire body. WAD is classified into Cervical Acceleration/Deceleration Syndrome (CADS), referring to the neck which is the most commonly injured body part in an MVA, and Whiplash Injury General Syndrome (WIGS) concerning other body parts.

More severe MVA related injuries may require hospitalization or even surgeries, but in most fender bender accidents, there are no external injuries or fractures, and yet patients can suffer from pain that an X-ray or MRI examinations cannot reveal. With patients suffering from CADS, pain is not just limited to the neck and the shoulders but can be felt in the shoulder blades and the upper limbs. WIGS describes a more broad spectrum of symptoms in areas other than head and neck, which can include posttraumatic stress disorder.

In Oriental medicine, pain from the shock of an MVA is explained with blood stasis. Blood stasis is commonly referred to as dead or bad blood, and in Oriental medicine it refers to stagnant blood circulation, or when blood is dispersed out of the meridian (qi-channel) and vessels and piles up and disrupts normal blood circulation. To put it more bluntly, it is much like an invisible inner bruise on the internal organs, caused by muscles and cartilage crashing into each other. Once blood stasis occurs, most patients complain of aches and pains in various parts of the body.

Therefore, the primary objective of the treatment for pain caused by an MVA focuses on removing the blood stasis. One method is cupping to remove the blood from the sore area’s acupuncture points to boost blood circulation. Another method is to prescribe herbal medicine, made up of ingredients to loosen up the blood stasis over the whole body.

To regulate the pain, Chuna-chiropractic, acupuncture or pharmacopuncture can be applied. The shock of an accident can affect spine alignment and damage the muscles and tendons that hold the discs together. Chuna-chiropractic can adjust the spinal alignment, and acupuncture can treat the pain & pressure points of the muscles. Pharmacopuncture is a new form of therapy derived from a conjunction of herbal medicine and acupuncture therapy. Herbal extraction is used as a stimulus measure for a meridian point. Medicine extracted, refined, diluted, blended or converged from pure herbs are applied at acupoints to maximize the efficacy of practicing Oriental medicine

There is one last tip for expatriates residing in Korea, or anyone else who suffers from the pain and aches of WAD caused by a car accident. All of the treatments mentioned above are recognized medical practices here in Korea and they are covered by standard auto insurance policies, much like treatment at an orthopedic clinic. If you are unfortunately involved in a car accident, suffer from WAD, and wish to seek Oriental treatment, you can safely visit your local Oriental clinic to ask for such treatment.

The writer practices Korean Oriental medicine at the UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam-dong, Seoul. He can be reached at sung_hun@naver.com.