Head Rest

Cars and chiropractic, two of my favorite things, intersect at car safety and car accident injuries.  So I read about it a lot and I am always curious to find ways to get the most out of the build-in safety devices our cars come (or should come) loaded with.

One of them is your headrest.  When positioned properly, they can reduce the severity of whiplash injuries.  The National Highway Safety Institute says that your head must be closer than two inches for them to work.  Where is yours?

This brand new study says that most people drive with their head too far forward therefore greatly worsening the severity of whiplash injuries.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a935983015~frm=titlelink

Another study done on an older population sample a few years ago found even worse positions.  That's a problem.

Bottom line:  You can hugely reduce injuries from rear-end collisions if you sit with your head within 2 inches of the headrest and even more if you have a car equipped with "active head restraints".  That's an option worth buying.

Dr. Jean-Marc