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WHIPLASH by Wayne Still

When we see the picture of a musher with his whip snaking out over his dog team the kinetic energy he has put into the whip is represented by the waves in it. As the energy reaches the end of the whip it is much amplified and is dissipated as sound and heat as the tip of the whip changes direction at high speed.

The human body is mostly composed of a fibrous matrix of connective tissue. Among its many other functions this organ acts as a shock absorber, dissipating the shocks to which our bodies are subjected in the normal course of our lives. Generally the energy is absorbed by the mostly vertically oriented muscle fibres in our bodies without incident.

The dynamic becomes more complicated when the body is subjected to uncontrolled forces moving toward each other from opposite directions. Where the energy vectors meet they are forced to change direction laterally at high speed while being dissipated in the surrounding connective tissue. This is known as a whiplash injury.

In the classic case of whiplash where a vehicle is rear ended, energy vectors are generated as the hips and lower back are suddenly thrust forward sending a tsunami like shock wave upward through the matrix. Simultaneously the head and shoulders are being thrown back sending a shock wave downward through the matrix. Where the waves meet the dissipation of their kinetic energy compromises the integrity of muscle tissue in the area restricting its range of motion. Pain is experienced from the injured tissue as well as from chronically stressed muscles sometimes far from the whiplash injury itself. The injured tissue has a particular texture, different from other adhesions which can cause similar symptoms.

Structural Integration work can be quite effective in dealing with the condition. Sometimes the energy will release quickly and dramatically. In other cases, particularly if the injury is an old one, it must be revisited repeatedly before the trapped energy is finally released. I recently experienced the release of a fifty year old whiplash on the left side of my neck while receiving the work. The range of motion in my neck was immediately increased with further releases happening in my right shoulder and hip over the next few days. There was an emotional component to the release too as I relived the traumatic circumstances surrounding the injury.

If you are experiencing what seems to be unexplained pain in a part of your body which you do not remember injuring, think back to other traumas you have experienced. Perhaps there was a whiplash producing incident you have forgotten about because it doesn’t hurt any more. Describe this to your bodyworker next time you have a session. It may be the key to the relief you seek.

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