If you, or someone you know, has suffered pain and injury from a Motor Vehicle Accident and live in or near the Tulsa Metro area, call Cate Chiropractic, your Tulsa chiropractor, for a free consultation at 918-747-2227. Dr. Cate and his staff are experienced in helping those who have suffered injury from a motor vehicle accident and know what to do to get you on the road to recovery.

The following facts, information, and statistics about Motor Vehicle Accidents are provided for your information and reference.

	Occupants often suffer more than the car.
	Multiple studies have shown that there is no direct relation between property damage in motor vehicle collisions and injury to the occupants inside that vehicle.
	ln 1995, there was a large whiplash seminar held in Banff, Canada. lnsurance providers from all over North America came to this seminar. During this seminar, the phrase "No crash/No cash" was invented.
	The invention of the "No crash/No cash" phrase was the start of a general paradigm shift by insurance companies. They decided they were going to contest any cases in which there was no significant property damage to a vehicle. Since that time, most physicians and other health care providers, along with their patients, have received letters from insurers when property damage was minimal stating that they would either not cover medical expenses or would limit their financial reimbursement for those injuries.
	36% of spinal injuries resulting from a crash occur at speeds below 9.3 miles per hour (Freeman m, et.al. Spine, vol 23, no.9, 1998).
	ln whiplash injuries, the head snaps backward first then whips forward. This forward hyperflexion is usually what damages the ligaments in the spine. This ligament damage starts the phase of spinal subluxations and/or torn discs.
	When there are spinal injuries, the most appropriate form of care is chiropractic manipulation. Treatments are accompanied with prescription medications from your medical doctor and possible physical therapy to strengthen the weakened areas. The chiropractic physician and some physical therapists are the only practitioners that address the actual site of physical damage to the spine. Medicine addresses the pain receptors by numbing out the area(s) of pain. Unfortunately medication does nothing to address the actual site of the damage. For this reason general manipulations, along with physical therapy are a necessity. Doing both is be best.
	Every state law regarding MVA injuries allows up to 2 years to file a claim. This law is based on a very large database of documented injuries. The reason for this law is the fact that pain can be delayed. Sometimes pain from an MVA occurs immediately, and other times pain can surface up to two years later.
	MVA injuries can also cause traumatic brain injuries or "TBI". This can be due to the head impacting the windshield side glass, and/or headrest. The TBI can also occur with the sudden forced movement of the head called "whiplash". This is like shaken baby syndrome. Most TBI's do not involve actually striking anything. The brain is jolted inside the cranial bulb. TBI symptoms can include headache, vertigo, quick temperedness, dizziness, clumsiness, behavioral changes, memory loss, emotional changes, etc.
	Pain threshold and perceptual dominance is often common in a car accident. Because of perceptual dominance, an individual with many painful sites (areas) may report only the most painful one at first. When the dominant pain is diminished, the individual identifies other painful areas. (Path of Physiology-McCance and Huether).
	A seatbelt is required to be used by law. The seatbelt, if used properly, will prevent the forward propulsion of the body and, to some extent, will lessen the possibility of serious injury to most of the body resulting from the sudden deceleration of the vehicle.
	The whiplash injury; it can seem like a bad dream. One minute you're in your car driving, and the next minute you're in the middle of chaos and possibly hurt. Unfortunately, because of someone else's negligence, your life can be changed forever. Unfortunately it is no dream; it is reality. And this reality can have a lasting effect for the rest of your life.
	Car accidents also involve financial repercussions. Dealing with the insurance company, getting your car replaced or repaired, police reports, rental cars; it can be a frustrating time.
	The accident itself is just the beginning. What follows is a period of transition, especially if you've had injuries to your head, neck, jaw, or spine. lmmediate attention and a spinal checkup and/or treatment are imperative to reduce scar tissue.
	The ER is equipped to evaluate life-threatening conditions and to provide emergency first aid treatment. The ER staff focuses on broken bones, hemorrhaging (internal bleeding), internal injuries, and emergency situations. Beyond that there is not much else they do.
	The emergency room physician, finding no immediate life threatening injuries, typically prescribes pain medication and instructs the patient to follow up with their primary care physician.
	A whiplash injury should be treated just as aggressively as a broken bone, if not more so.
	Soft tissue refers to everything except bone. Soft tissue such as muscle, ligaments, nerves, and discs don't show up on an x-ray.
	ln a whiplash injury, especially in a rear end collision, the neck is torqued beyond its natural limits. This is what tears the ligaments and twists the bones in the neck. Medication alone obviously does not treat this type of injury.
	Muscles, when damaged, often heal without treatment. Ligaments, joints, and discs do not.
	The body's reaction to a whiplash injury is pain, swelling, redness, spasm, and heat.
	Ligaments, because of their poor blood supply, heal much more slowly than muscles.
	Treatment for whiplash injuries can take time (4-12 weeks) due to the ligaments involved.
	Chiropractic care deals clinically with these whiplash conditions with passive, gentle joint mobilization and state-of-the-art physical therapy.
	The nerves exit between the spinal bones. When ligaments are torn and the spinal vertebrae are forced beyond their normal motion, a pinching of the nerves occurs.
	Grade lll and up ligament injuries show up on x-rays. The patient position that often shows this type of torn ligament is the "flexion view" or "extension view" of the neck. These x-rays are very rarely taken by the ER physician and/or your medical doctor.
	Dr. Cate is an expert at determining the amount of spinal instability that is present and in determining the most appropriate form of treatment to correct it.
	When spinal joints are damaged, the muscles begin to spasm and/or splint. The unwanted side effect is the joints adjacent to the injury site begin to lock up. This is why the whiplash patient has modern to extreme neck stiffness.
	Chiropractic manipulation and therapy is the best treatment for the locked up joints. Medication often will not treat the joints that are locked up.
	The chiropractor is the only specialist licensed to practice in the United States that is specially trained to diagnose and correct these locked spinal segments.
	Besides the torn ligaments, the next area of concern that Dr. Cate has with patients involved in motor vehicle accidents is the inter-vertebral discs. The inter-vertebral disc acts as a shock absorber to the spinal bones.
	lf a patient is non-responsive, an MRI is often requested by Dr. Cate to determine how badly the disc has slipped and/or torn.
	General manipulation and therapy to restore the spinal joint motion allows these discs to heal.
	Torn discs from car accidents are best treated by the chiropractic physician. lf left alone too long, or if an injury is too severe, an orthopedic or neurosurgeon is the next source of treatment. At that point, treatment is now obviously beyond conservative care and the patient is most likely looking at surgery.
	Discs are highly dependent upon spinal joint motion to remain healthy. The spinal joint motion is imperative due to the fact that inter-vertebral discs have no blood supply.
	Dr. Cate adjusts the neck and spine to provide intersegmental motion to the damaged segments. Dr. Cate determines the damaged segments not only from the evaluation, but also from the x-rays and an MRl (if it was necessary).
	Due to the fact that ligaments were torn and Dr. Cate is able to document this type of injury, patients can be reimbursed by the insurance company for their injuries.
	Unfortunately, patients often receive whiplash injuries that are never documented or treated appropriately by their MD. Failure to document these injuries is unfortunate and results in the patient being unable to get reimbursed for his/her injuries.
	Spinal joint injuries, torn ligaments, and disc injuries must be documented. Dr. Cate is excellent at providing the documentation necessary and appropriately to the insurance company.
	The insurance companies do not mind reimbursing appropriately for injuries when the injuries are documented. Unfortunately some insurance companies are completely uncooperative and legal representation may be required. Dr. Cate has worked with a number of attorneys over the last 25 plus years, has testified in court, and given many depositions. Dr. Cate is capable of providing medical legal documentation so that his patients can be properly reimbursed.
	Dr. Cate also works hand in hand with medical physicians on all of his patients that are involved in whiplash injuries.
	Multiple studies have shown that patients that are sustain whiplash injuries develop osteoarthritis in the neck 35-60% of the time in the ensuing years.
	These studies also show that only 6% of patients involved in whiplash injuries did not develop osteoarthritis.
	ln another famous study, hundreds of patients were interviewed two years after they received their insurance settlement from a whiplash injury. 45% of these patients still complained of ongoing pain and disability as a result of the car accident. More than likely, 45% is a conservative figure.
	Dr. Cate will start your treatment by reducing the amount of unwanted scar tissue by controlling the inflammatory state.
	Next, he will work with maintaining normal intersegmental motion thereby assisting in the normal healing process of damaged ligaments, muscles, and discs.
	Then, rehabilitating injured tissues by utilizing general spinal adjustments and using state-of-the-art physical therapy.
	It is important to follow all of the recommendations made by Dr. Cate and the treating MD to avoid permanent damage in your spine.
	Right now you might not be thinking about what effect your injury may have on your life 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years from now. However right now is the best time to be thinking about that because it's the best time to minimize the effects of your injury.
	lf you feel more comfortable having an attorney in charge of your case, the attorneys Dr. Cate works with operate on a contingency basis. This means that there is no up front fee you must pay when you hire them. They receive a reasonable percentage of the amount of money that they negotiate for you at the end of your treatment.
	The attorneys that Dr. Cate works with prefer to work a case from the very beginning. The attorneys often will negotiate your case with the insurance adjuster on a friendly basis in an effort to avoid keeping your case out of court. Unfortunately, some cases need to go to court. When this occurs it can take 2-3 years after the actual injury to settle your case.