Kunitachi Ozawa Acupuncture Clinic.

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Case Reports

症例報告
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whiplash due to the 2nd traffic accident (autonomic dysreflexia, dizziness, stomachache)

main symptoms

pain in the neck. the neck hurts, and dizziness is strong when she looks down. the autonomic nervous system is also disturbed, and stomach discomfort persists. no appetite. cannot sleep.
a few years ago, she was hit from behind and injured her neck. at that time, she received only massage therapy and electric therapy, and finished the treatment with some anxiety.
this is the second accident, and the symptoms are worse than the last. as before, she received electric therapy and massage therapy, but her symptoms did not improve.
dizziness was strong, and she felt sick when she looked down while cooking. no appetite.
sometimes she gets dizzy suddenly and continues to feel uncomfortable.

treatment

i wrote a letter of referral to the doctor and asked him to agree to the need for acupuncture treatment, because i judged that the symptoms were caused by trigger point activity deep in the neck due to the second traffic accident and that electrotherapy and manual therapy would not improve the symptoms.
since she was not accustomed to the stimulation of acupuncture needles, she was treated with thin needles.

1st treatment: almost no change
3rd treatment: almost no change
5th treatment: dizziness and discomfort decreased even when looking down.
10th treatment: dizziness and discomfort almost disappeared. stomach pain remains.
15th treatment: appetite comes back. she feels better and better these days.
20th treatment: headache disappears. the back of the neck is sometimes painful.

after several treatments, the symptoms seemed to disappear.

Summary

be careful about whiplash after the second time.

it is not uncommon for whiplash to be symptomless at first, but symptoms gradually appear.
trigger points are formed in deep muscles and when they are activated, pain and autonomic nerve symptoms appear.
it does not mean that symptoms appear immediately after trigger points are formed, but symptoms appear when trigger points are activated by stress, cold stimulation, or ischemia caused by pressure.
therefore, it is always recommended to receive treatment even if there are no symptoms.
especially in the case of a second accident, trigger points that have been hidden can easily be activated, leading to stubborn symptoms.
deep muscles can only be reached by acupuncture.

i apologize for the inconvenience, but i will explain with my own poor drawing.

1) while driving


2) when you are hit from behind

at this time, the neck is hyperextended.


3) diagram of reaction and return

hyperflexion of the neck occurs as a reaction to hyperextension.


4) further hyperextension by the reaction.

if you know you are going to be hit, you can position yourself, but if you are hit from behind, you cannot position yourself, so your neck repeats hyperextension, hyperflexion, and hyperextension.
as a result, not only the superficial muscles but also the deeper muscles become sore.
when some external force is applied, people unconsciously exert their muscle power.
excessive muscle tension causes the formation of trigger points.

please excuse my poor drawing. m(__)m
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