Long after the insurance companies have gone home, many victims of car accidents still fell the effects of the incident. Not only is the experience costly, it leaves countless drivers with headaches and pain that can be very difficult to treat.
Whiplash affects half of all American drivers who have suffered rear-end accidents.
The sudden jolt from behind 'whips' the head backward and forward, putting excess pressure on the 14 neck joints that connect the skull to the spine. The primary joint to suffer damage at the base of the skull is called the C2-3. A team of doctors from the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has developed a new and successful treatment for headaches resulting from this injury, by injecting steroids directly into the C2-3 joint. . The process is similar to an epidural procedure, which also involves the injection of steroids into the spine to provide pain relief. These injections work by reducing inflammation in the joint by being directly introduced into the trouble-spot.