RISK OF WHIPLASH DUE TO BAD SEATING POSITIONS

SOUTH EAST DRIVERS AT RISK OF WHIPLASH DUE TO



SOUTH EAST DRIVERS AT RISK OF WHIPLASH DUE TO BAD SEATING POSITIONS






Drivers in the South East who fail to wear seatbelts correctly are at risk of injury according to the British Osteopathic Association (BOA). While most people1 are fully aware that wearing a seatbelt saves lives, the majority are not aware that the way they sit in a car plays a huge part in their personal safety.



The results of a survey by the BOA2, released ahead of Back Care Awareness Week (11-15 October,) has found that almost one in ten (9%) of drivers in the South East sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash. To be effective, the belt should be sitting over the bones of the pelvis and not the stomach preventing internal injuries and in contact with the shoulder to prevent serious neck injury. Sitting too far from the belt can often lead to submarining - where the occupant slips under the belt which can cause catastrophic injuries.



Forty four per cent (44%) of all South East drivers do not drive in a position where their head is close enough to the head restraint or they sit too far back for their seatbelt to be effective, so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury. Furthermore, only 6.5 % of people adjust the head restraint regularly, despite the fact that most people travel in a variety of vehicles (as drivers, passengers and in taxis for example) and 45.7% said they never adjusted their head rest at all.



Head restraints work by catching and supporting the head in the event of a rear end crash and so reduce the chance of permanent soft tissue damage. A correctly adjusted head restraint should be as close to the back of the head as possible and as high as the top of the occupant’s head, meaning head movement in relation to their body is reduced as the car and seat is punted forward when hit from behind. In addition the drivers’ seat should be at the correct distance so that a properly positioned seat belt is low across the hips and pelvis, with the shoulder belt firmly across the chest and collarbone.



Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for the 8.2 % who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel. Drivers with a gap of less than 12 inches between themselves and the steering wheel when driving are at risk of receiving the full force of an airbag deploying in a crash involving the front of the vehicle.



Airbags have to inflate very quickly (some at over 200 mph) in order to protect the head and chest of drivers and passengers in the event of a frontal crash. Therefore an airbag needs enough space in front of the steering wheel in order to inflate properly. People who are shorter than around 5' 2” (1.57m) often sit too close to the steering wheel and may be injured by the inflating airbag. A safe distance is around 12 inches – the size of an A4 piece of paper placed lengthways.



Danny Williams, BOA Council Member, said: “While most of us are aware that seatbelts save lives, it’s fair to say that the majority of us don’t know that the way we sit in a vehicle also plays a huge part in our safety and wellbeing.



“The position of the head restraint, how far or close we sit to the steering wheel and how long we spend sitting at the wheel without having a break are can cause long-lasting neck and back injuries.”



Matthew Avery, Crash Research Manager at Thatcham, said: “Vehicle safety has moved on at a pace with numerous new technologies now available designed to help avoid or mitigate injury during a collision. Whilst many seats and head restraints perform well in protecting the occupant, this research goes to show that too many drivers are still subject to avoidable risks by not taking the time to adjust their head restraints correctly.”



- Ends -



For further information contact:

Kirsty Marshall

020 8964 0260 / 07980 649 501

kirsty@vp-pr.com





Notes to editors



About the British Osteopathic Association

The British Osteopathic Association (BOA) is the professional association for osteopaths in the UK, acting as an independent representative body whilst promoting osteopathy to the general public and government. Established in 1998 the BOA is committed to supporting, protecting and caring for its members and promoting opportunities for individual and professional development in osteopathic practice. There are nearly 4,000 osteopaths on the UK register who carried out over seven million treatments last year, and many of these are affiliated to the British Osteopathic Association. For more information and to search for an osteopath, visit the website www.osteopathy.org



References

1Esure survey published 30/6/2010 found 85% of women always wear seat belts compared with 73% of men

2The research for BOA was carried out online by Opinion Matters between 14/09/2010 and 20/09/2010 amongst a panel resulting in 1435 UK Adult respondents. All research conducted adheres to the MRS Codes of Conduct (2010) in the UK and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines

3The total UK motoring population based on DfT Transport Statistics - 33,522,106 motor vehicles currently licensed as at 2006. 14,816,770 is a projected figure based on the 1435 motorists surveyed



BOA research statistics



National

• 54% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 54% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 62% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 18% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



East

• 44% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 58% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• One in ten drivers (13%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 16.2% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 55% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 51% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 66% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 13% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



London

• 45% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 45% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• One fifth of drivers (19%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 16% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 61% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 52% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle

• 61% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 18% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



Midlands

• 42% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 50% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• One in ten drivers (13%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 17% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 54% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 55% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 64% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 25% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



North East

• 35% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 51% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• Almost one in ten drivers (7%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for one in ten drivers 10% who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 52% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 52% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 56% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 13% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



North West

• 39% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 55.8% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• 14% of drivers sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 12% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 60% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 60% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 61% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 13% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



Scotland

• 46% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 47.4% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• 15% of drivers sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 8.2% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 55% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 57% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 59% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 22% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



South East

• 44% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 45.7% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• Almost one in ten drivers (9%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 17% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 44% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 51% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 61% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 22% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



South West

• 50% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 12% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 49.6% of drivers never adjust their head restraint14% of drivers sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• 52% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 53% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 60% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 14% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



Wales

• 40% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 52% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• One in ten drivers (10%) sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 14.3% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 49% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 43% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 60% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 12% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.



Yorkshire

• 54% of drivers do not have their head close enough to the head restraint so that in an accident, they would be at risk of sustaining a serious whiplash injury

• 53% of drivers never adjust their head restraint

• 16% of drivers sit too far back for their seatbelt to offer effective protection in a frontal crash.

• Receiving a serious chest injury as a result of being hit by an airbag during an accident is also a very real possibility for 9% of drivers who admitted sitting too close to the steering wheel.

• 62% of drivers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 57% of passengers do not have their seat at the correct angle.

• 64% of people do not have their head restraint positioned correctly.

• 24% of people sit in a vehicle for 6 hours or more a week.

Backcare Awareness Week 2010

This week sees the start of Backcare awareness week from the 11th-15th October 2010.  The charity aims to reduce the impact of back pain on society and this week is to raise awareness of the issues surrounding back pain. Last year the campaign was called the "big bag amnesty" which encouraged people to carry smaller, lighter bags.  This year the campaign is "beyond the box"  If you suffer from back pain then take a look at their site http://www.backcare.org.uk for up to date information.

Here at Fine Fettle we have many practitioners who are trained to deal with back pain.  The most obvious are the Osteopaths and the Sports Therapists.  Some of the other therapies we have that you may not have considered are Acupuncture, Massage, Hypnotherapy, Biomechanical Assessment, Pilates Alexander Technique and Personal Training. 

Check out our website for further details: www.finefettle.org

TEAM FINE FETTLE ON FINE FORM!!

Autumn Spitfire 20 and Tempest 10 Sunday 3rd October 2010




Lying awake listening to the torrential rain and driving wind on Saturday night it was hard to envisage Team Fine Fettle setting up the next day, for post event massage, in anything other than Surreys own hurricane with wind, mud and puddles. The only comfort being I had not decided to do the race myself this time!!



We turned up at 8.30 at Dunsfold Aerodrome, famous for being the Top Gear Testing track, to a windy but rain free race venue to prepare for after event massage and injury advice. Almost 300 runners were about to take part in either a 20 mile or 10 mile race in aid of the charity “Combat Stress”. www.combatstress.org.uk



Like true Brits we decided a little bit of wind and wet was not going to beat us so we set up camp at the start/finish line…This went well until we found that with all the pegs, guy ropes and even tying the gazebo to a metal post we still could not let go of the gazebo that had now turned into a self inflating balloon ready to launch across the running track at any moment. Defeated we then spent another 20 minutes, much to the amusement of others taking down the balloon/gazebo and researching other options.



Fortunately we were led, kindly, by Nicky and Alan (Events to Live course directors) to a sheltered spot inside next to some squash courts. It was warm and dry and at that point a relief to be out of the wind. We initially set up 2 couches, thinking that being tucked away from the finish line that we may not see many runners coming to use our services… How wrong were we! I have now been banned from saying “we may not get many through today guys” as suddenly we had an influx of runners finishing the 10 mile and subsequently the 20 mile all vying for our services. Very quickly we were up to 5 couches and we were constantly treating for about 2 hours. So another successful event for fine fettle.



I was lucky enough to treat the male runner-up of the 20 mile race who had averaged 6 minute miles all the way around. He arrived for his massage looking like he had just walked from his car, not an ounce of sweat on him. I subsequently found out he was a PTI in the army and his pre race preparation had been 10 pints of Guinness the night before…We would not advocate this as a safe training method but it did make us smile. He left feeling eased after his run and then reported he would be doing a 6 mile warm down run that evening. As a mere mortal I could only applaud his ability and hope that perhaps by treating him some of his speed had rubbed off on to me!! ( I ran this morning and did notice any effect - yet!)



Many of the runners were preparing for the New York and Dublin marathon and we wish them all good luck in their runs and fundraising.



Team Fine Fettles next event is the “Three Mole Hills” on Sunday 28th November. This race will see teams of 3 racing up Box hill, Norbury Hill and Ranmore. A tough race but one with some fantastic views.


http://www.eventstolive.co.uk/ for more information on races in the area.

Queen Elizabeth Foundation Bikeathon

Queen Elizabeth Foundation Bikeathon – Sunday 26th September 2010

Well last Sunday saw the team at Fine Fettle once again at a charity event. This time it was our great pleasure to support the QEF for disabled people. Their annual Bikeathon charity ride.

QEF works with people living with physical and learning disabilities or acquired brain injuries to gain new skills and increase independence. Whether it’s learning everyday life skills, rebuilding a life affected by brain injury, acquiring the skills to drive a specially adapted car or training for future employment QEF supports disabled people to achieve goals for life. http://www.qef.org.uk/

The day started early with a warm-up for the cyclists performed by Mel Healy (Fine Fettles own Sports Therapist, Rehabilitation and Trainer) at the QEF head quarters. As the head trainer for the GB American Football squad we had to tame her enthusiasm slightly for us lesser mortals!!

The warm up went well with the majority of the cyclists joining in before their charity ride and even a few Fine Fettle therapists were seen jumping about…we were not sure if they were following Mel’s warm up or if they were just a bit cold. You can see Debra (Team Fine Fettle) wandering off to the left of the picture below - where was she going?!!! Anyway fun was had by all …..

The Cyclists then set off in staggered start for bike rides of 13, 26 or 45 miles. The finish was to be at the Old Plough Pub in Stoke d’Abernon so Team Fine Fettle had to move fast to set up again at the finish line.

Two gazebos up and six couches later Team Fine Fettle were at the finish venue awaiting the first weary cyclists. Around midday the first finishers started to come in to be welcomed by Team Fine Fettle, QEF staff and a fabulous outdoor BBQ that has us all craving burger and chips!!

Thanks goes to Mel, Caroline, Debra, Chris, Rachel, Aileen and Helen for providing such great after event massage, injury advice and general support. Fantastic team of practitioners at Fine Fettle and we raised £70 for QEF in the process. That is a total of over £200 raised for charity in September. It was the first event that we had all 6 couches full most of the time.

This Sunday Team Fine Fettle can be found at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Cranleigh (famous for being the track for Top Gear) for the Events to Live 20 mile run. It is an early start so once again Team Fine Fettle miss a lie in but we love it really!!! Do come and visit us and support the runners if you are in the area. The start is at 9am.

Go to our website at www.finefettle.org for detailed information about services provided.

Weightless?


No but I am less weight I have lost 6lb. Not losing as fast as I would like but before anyone else says it ...... I know it is better to lose slowly and steadily, it’s just that although my body might be slow with the additional weight my mind is actually very fit and athletic and is impatient to get things moving so that I can achieve the goal I have set myself.

Have had a couple of occasions where I thought I had more pressing things to think about than losing weight but realised that perhaps this was a path I had travelled down before that leads to a dead end where I give up! So after I had spoken to myself quite sternly (at my age it is quite alright to talk to yourself) I feel I am back on track. However I have realised that self motivation is not my strong point. I enjoy motivating others but with myself I have realised I need help. Thus I am going to add yet another tool to my weight loss toolbox. There is now a personal trainer working out of Finefettle. Kim Raine is setting up a small group for people who want to start exercising but maybe don’t feel quite ready to exercise alongside all those fit regular gym goers. The training will take place out in the fresh air and each person will train to their own ability (although I don’t think you will be allowed to slack off just because you don’t think you can do something if Kim thinks you can!) I think details will be advertised soon.

Thank you for reading my blog, writing things down is quite cathartic in itself. Hopefully there will be less of me writing my next one.

Team Fine Fettle

Since my last blog, Team Fine Fettle have been working hard at local events.

Early on Sunday 5th September, the “Team” set off to set up for the Badger Half Marathon which started in Leatherhead and then over the beautiful countryside of Norbury Park and back to the start. An early start to set up the couches, and then a wait for the first runners to come in. The first runner Tim Elsey came home first in a new course record of 1.15.17. In the ladies race Rose Nicholson from Woking AC stormed to victory in an excellent 1.25.28.

Mel Healy, Joss Hudspith, Caroline Adderly and Helen Bullen where the therapists on the day and had their work cut out with almost two hours of solid post-event massage and injury support, once the main body of runners came across the finishing line. A hard morning with many tired runners as the course was a hilly one. We raised over £80 for the Rainbow Trust Charity.

 
Last Sunday saw the Fine Fettle Team out again at the Bacchus Half and Full Marathon event. This was the first time it had been run and the emphasis was on fun, as runners were encouraged to don fancy dress and sample wine en route.

Team Fine Fettle were once again manning the massage and injury support area and, much to my better judgement, I was actually doing the half marathon. Not only did I agree to run it, but somewhere along the line I decided with some friends it would be good fun to dress up and all run it together. This meant 9 cave girls on the run!!!

 

Us at the start

  

Supporting Chase charity

 

As I have a group of friends who are keen runners there were only two cave girls who had never run beyond 10 miles before with many of us marathon finishers at some point in our running careers. We all decided to run together and rebanded at every drinks stop for Jelly Babies and a snifter of wine!!! We then all ran on together... With the stops, singing and mucking about, we finally came home in just under 2hrs 30. A nice time to take time to enjoy the race and the surroundings. I do think we did surprise a few runners as being the largest group in fancy dress initially runners wanted to get in front of us… We are not a bad group of runners so it was fun to catch a few unawares and get back in front on the big hills!!!

Us at the finish!

Our finish was somewhat noisy and we think may have been heard in Dorking….lots of singing and whooping – we seem to have made many websites and papers since!!!

 
 Mel Healy, Jan Coheeney, Caroline Adderley and Debra all worked really hard nursing sore legs and helping reduce the symptoms of such a long and hilly course. Jan ended up blue after massaging an Avatar character (we thought he was a Smurf at first) who did the full marathon. He is running 6 marathons in 7 weeks and we gave him an honorary cave man outfit to wear on one of this forthcoming  marathons… Look out for him!  He promised to email us a picture so will blog it if we get it through!

Jan working out how not to get too “blue” on the day!!



Had Jan now become an Avatar too??

Team Fine Fettle once again was a roaring success and with the expertise of both Osteopathy and Sports Therapy, and provided a full-on service for all the post-event runners. Once again, they raised money for the race charity – Chase and raised over £160 on the day.  Next event for Team Fine Fettle is the Queen Elizabeth Foundation Bikeathon on Sunday 26th September. We're looking forward to it as Mel Healy is taking the warm-up and seems to think we will all be doing it with her????!!!
Now back to my week off… First one since opening and I have to say I am finding it hard to keep away from the clinic…I did pop in today but was soon sent away until Monday…
Thanks for following us and catch up again soon

Helen Bullen

Owner/Director of Fine Fettle and Osteopath

World Reflexology Week

I thought I'd let you know that next week is World Reflexology Week (19th-25th September)

This is an opportunity to raise more awareness of this calming, relaxing therapy and its many benefits.

To coincide with this, we have a special promotional offer:
If you book during World Reflexology Week for any further date, you will receive 10% discount off your first appointment.

So, if you're stressed, tired, anxious, or have any other specific conditions, see if Reflexology could help you, and treat yourself to some well-deserved 'me' time.

Thank you and hope to see you soon.

Brett Harris C.Hyp, D.Hyp, M.A.R, CNLP Prac.
Reflexologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist

www.aor.org.uk