Have you ever sprained your ankle? The majority of the population has and you probably have had it re injured from time to time. But what is the similarity to whiplash you may ask? Often insurance defense personnel and their chiropractic/medical experts make an analogy between the whiplash-injured neck and a sprained ankle. Their classic claim is that a sprained ankle will heal spontaneously (without treatment) and quickly (weeks), and there are no long –term residuals. A 2008 study in The American Journal of Medicine “What is the clinical course of acute ankle sprains” presents a much different reality pertaining to the healing of the sprained ankle. At 3 years up to 64% have not fully recovered, up to 25% have residual pain, up to 53% suffer from residual instability, and up to 34% suffer from re-injury. It appears that 15% to 64% have some degree of permanent injury. Additionally, the severity of ankle injury is not a strong predictor for the ultimate clinical outcome. Consequent, it appears that trauma from ankle sprain and whiplash have a number of shared characteristics: significant residual pain, instability, re-injury rates, permanent injury residuals, and the severity of injury not being a predictor for the ultimate clinical outcome. Don’t let car crash injuries (big or small) turn into lifelong concerns. Chiropractic care can help reduce these percentages when used in a timely manner.