Oriental treatment available for auto accident injuries

By Lee Seung-hun

A recent survey by the Korea Insurance Development Institute has shown that in the past five years (2010 through 2014) more automobile accidents occurred and also more emergency on-site services were requested during the winter season.

It can be assumed that slippery roads from snow and ice produced by low temperatures significantly contributed to the increase of road accidents during the season.

As most automobile accidents are minor collisions, the injuries suffered during them do not show up on x-ray images or MRI scans other than the patient complaining of slight discomfort and pain.

Unlike symptoms from exercise-related injuries or from direct external wounds such as falling on the ground, pain from an automobile accident can differ as the external impact is transferred via the vehicle to the body.

Patients can appear and feel normal immediately after the accident, but after some time (usually within a week) they will start to complain of pain in various muscles and joints that were exposed to the impact.

Symptoms can fluctuate between almost non-existent to severe, and tend to last longer than ordinary contusion-related pain.

In an automobile accident, the neck and its surrounding region are most frequently injured.

A whiplash injury occurs as the sudden acceleration or deceleration of the accident causes the heads of the driver and passengers to jerk severely forward and backward (much like the tail end of a whip), leading to damage in the cervical vertebrae and their surroundings.

This file photo shows a doctor performing cupping treatment. / Korea Times

Whiplash injuries are very common in rear-end collisions.

Symptoms from whiplash injuries in the head and neck area include pain and stiffness in the neck area, loss of range of motion in the neck, headaches, aching in the shoulder and between the shoulder blades, and a tingling sensation and numbness in the arms similar to that caused by a herniated cervical disc.

A common comment from patients who have x-rays after an automobile accident is that they are diagnosed with a “straight neck.”

If the muscles and tendons surrounding the cervical spine become injured and the spine becomes unstable, our body’s response is to tense up the surrounding muscles.

As a result, the natural c-shaped curve of the cervical vertebrae becomes a straight line.

Such straight neck symptoms can naturally recover its curvature once the pain subsides.

Apart from such muscular skeletal symptoms, whiplash injuries can also cause exhaustion, dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, insomnia, memory problems, difficulty in concentration and even depression.

In Oriental medicine, automobile accident-related pains are explained with the concept of blood stasis. In layman’s terms, blood stasis is commonly referred to as “dead” or “bad” blood.

It actually means that our body’s blood becomes stagnant or leaks from its normal meridian vessel to cause a disruption of the blood circulation.

To help understanding, one might picture a bruise on the skin from a contusion and think of blood stasis as the unseen bruises in our body suffer from the accident.

Therefore, the primary goal of Oriental treatment for pain caused by automobile accidents is to remove such blood stasis.

The most common method for achieving this is cupping treatment.

On the painful areas or the acupuncture spots near them, acupuncture and cupping cups are administered to remove the blood and promote better circulation.

It works much like a plumbing works to clear clogs but instead removes the blood stasis to restore circulation.

Oriental medication is also used in treating blood stasis within the body, with ingredients known to help such functions.

Safflower seeds, which nowadays have become a popular folk remedy for treating bone fractures, are actually a well-known ingredient that can remove blood stasis.

To adjust the spine that is misaligned from the accident’s impact, Chuna chiropractic can be administered.

Chuna treatment can quickly adjust the proper alignment and effectively alleviate pain at the same time.

Some patients can also require acupuncture treatment to relieve tension in the muscles while promoting better circulation of qi and blood, and also pharmacopuncture to work as anti-inflammatory agents.

In recent years, an increasing number of Koreans are seeking Oriental treatment as their primary care following an automobile accident.

In a survey conducted by Dongshin University on automobile accident injury patients about the satisfaction of Oriental treatment from June to September of 2014, 90.3 percent responded that they were satisfied with the treatment they received for their injuries.

Unfortunately, many patients do not realize that they can opt for such highly satisfactory treatment as auto insurance covers Oriental treatment with deductibles.

Patients can feel safe and be treated without worrying about payment out of their own pockets.

If you or someone you know suffers pain from an unfortunate auto accident, an Oriental clinic can be a viable choice for a speedy recovery.

The writer practices Oriental medicine at the

UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam- dong,

Seoul.