Did you know that about 33 percent of spinal fractures are missed in an emergency room visit? Let’s say you are in your car at a stop light and hit from behind. Luckily you are not injured too bad, but rescue personnel suggest your visit the ER just to get checked out.You’re examined at the emergency room and the physician proclaims “Good news, nothing in broken. Go home, get some rest. Here is a prescription for some pain relievers and muscle relaxers and you might also want to use a heat pack on the area.”Well, guess what, nothing about that statement is “good news!” When it comes to evaluation and treatment of injuries related to the fascia (the band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs) and other elastic, collagen-based connective tissues, all of the high-tech medical equipment in the world will not pick up the problems. Due to the sudden acceleration and deceleration of your head and neck, the traumatized connective tissues in your neck and upper back cause swelling; and that swelling keeps fractures from showing up on x-rays.X-rays also do not show the damage to soft connective tissues and to the fascia. The typical ER protocol of sending injured patients home with pain killers and other anti-inflammation drugs can actually cause injured tissue to heal weaker and less elastic that it would without the drugs. Think about a broken bone. You can put a cast on a broken bone and it will heal, but if it is not set back to is correct position it is not going to heal correctly. The same can be said for soft tissue injuries, without proper treatment at the beginning, they are not going to heal correctly; and you will likely suffer chronic pain the rest of your life.The key to recovery when tissue is traumatized is controlled motion through chiropractic adjustment, specific stretches and strengthening exercises. Restoring movement, function and strength is the only proven method that is effective in reducing symptoms of whiplash.