For years, I have been asking my patients if they have a history of head and neck injuries including, car accidents, falls, times where they have been knocked unconscious, had a concussion or stitches to their head.

I’m asked periodically which is the best position for the seat in your car. I find it funny to drive around town and to see so many drivers with their seat reclined so far back that it is reminiscent to sitting in a lazy-boy recliner. As comfortable as this may be when riding as a passenger, it is a recipe for disaster if there ever was a crash. Why?

It’s obvious to many that a car crash can ruin your life. However, at what point will someone determine how serious a crash needs to be, for it to be damaging and irreversible? We have had patients that have been involved in a 40 mph crash that has produced more injuries than a 75 mph, head on collision. So when does a crash become “Dangerous”? The hard answer…It depends. We talk about risk factors on a regular basis. Speed is a factor, but only a small one (most of the time). But that’s not what this blog post is about. This post is about how a crash can ruin your life.

When I talk to people about car crashes, I commonly hear how it was “just a fender bender”. Their neck was sore, but they weren’t REALLY hurt. Or were they. If a driver of a car was hit from behind, and the car was traveling at a speed less than 10 mph, it is easy to say that there is no way that that driver got injured. However, when you start asking questions like: Did the driver have their head turned? Have they ever had neck injuries before, was the vehicle that hit them, larger than theirs, etc., the amount of speed requirement for injury, goes way down. In fact, if the drivers head was turned more than 15 degrees, a 5 mph crash can have significant consequences.