Whiplash and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury – A Functional Neurological Approach

Course Description

Patients frequently seek the help of chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapists after sustaining a head or neck injury. Rather commonly ‘cervical sprain/strain’ is diagnosed and the true extent of the injury remains unexplored, undocumented and frequently untreated. Whether you treat athletes involved in contact sports or mostly the ‘bread and butter chiropractic patients’, this seminar will help you to better understand the acute and chronic bony, soft tissue and neurological injuries that can occur through a traumatic head and neck injury and will provide you with the knowledge and tools to effectively treat these injuries to the best possible extent.

Course Content: 

• Soft tissue injury and alteration of spinal biomechanics after whiplash and mild traumatic brain injury.
• Common peripheral and central neurological manifestations of head and neck injuries.
• The three pathophysiological subtypes of concussion as described in recent indexed scientific literature, which will help direct your treatment and formulate a more accurate prognosis.
• What questions to ask and what examination procedures to perform to avoid missing often subtle neurological compromise that can have long-term detrimental effects on the patient’s life.
• Why people who have suffered a head/neck are often grumpy, unable to concentrate and frequently have difficulty sleeping for weeks after the injury – and it is not solely related to being angry about the damage to their car or the stress of having to deal with insurance companies.
• Why it is not uncommon for brand new symptoms to appear several weeks after a whiplash injury, e.g. low back pain, dizziness or paraesthesia.
• Factors that help predict recovery times and long-term outcome (with literature references) – very useful when arguing a medico-legal report.
• Therapies to treat acute and chronic head and neck injuries, including physical modalities, tissue offloading, proprioceptive and vestibular rehabilitation, and cognitive therapies.
• Nutritional approaches and other strategies to reduce neural inflammation in whiplash and mild traumatic brain injury.
• Practicals throughout the day will provide opportunity to learn examination and treatment procedures.

Pre-reading suggestions:
www.neuroseminars.co.uk/page23.htm