Side Impact Crashes

Side Impact Crashes A Recipe For Low Back Disaster

Side impact collisions are particularly dangerous because the driver or passenger has little in the way of structural protection in the event of a near-side impact. Seat backs, shoulder harnesses, and head restraints offer little protection in these crashes like they do in a rear impact collision. Side airbags, which may be mounted in the B-pillar, overhead, or the seat back itself, provide some measure of protection in side impact crashes. In more severe crashes, the main risk is to middle back (thorax) and inside contents of the abdomen, as well as to the head. In lower severity crashes, lower back injuries are common, as are neck injuries. However, neck injury tends to be mitigated to some degree since, unlike a rear impact scenario, the torso is capable of moving laterally and sharing the load imparted to the whole spine. Lower back injuries, on the other hand, are somewhat more common because the subject's body mass and lap belt anchor the pelvis as the torso flexes laterally resulting in shear and bending moments in the lumbosacral disc and facet region.  In our Ft Myers office along with safe and effective chiropractic care we have state of the art equipment, like the DRX9000 spinal decompression system to treat low back injuries caused by automobile accidents naturally.