Posts Tagged ‘automobile accident’
Light Impact Car Accidents and Chiropractic Care
Most insurance companies try to dispute payments made for medical care that was related to car accidents with little to no damage to the cars. Most of the time the responsible insurance company ends up paying for your injuries but it can be a struggle.
I recently had a new patient in my San Diego Chiropractic office that had been injured in a car accident. She had a severe headache, neck pain that prevented full motion in her neck, middle back pain and low back pain. She also had shooting, stabbing pain in her right arm. Prior to the accident she didn’t have any of these symptoms.
As this patient sat on my exam table, sobbing because of her pain, I noticed on her intake form that she was a claims adjuster for a large auto insurance company. After our consultation and exam were completed and I made my treatment recommendations she said something that I will never forget. She said “I can’t believe how much pain I am in – especially since there is no damage to my car. I feel so bad that I have been denying claims like these for years – I had no idea that anyone could be hurt by such a minor accident!” And this lady was an insurance adjuster!
After several weeks of care that produced slow improvement, I sent her out for an MRI of her neck. The MRI results revealed that she had two herniated discs in her neck that were largely responsible for her neck pain and the right arm pain.
This lady was only 24 years old and was in good shape physically. Before this accident, she had no prior car accidents or significant falls or other injuries. Regarding this accident, her car was undamaged – in fact she said the impact felt like a light tap on her bumper that surprised her more than it jolted her body.
The chiropractic care that we were delivering changed a little bit with more of our treatment emphasis going towards therapies then chiropractic adjustments. Over the course of the next few months her symptoms went away but she would still occasionally bring up how bad she felt about fighting all those claims that were just like hers.
Yours in Good Health,
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
Neck Pain, Whiplash and Chiropractic Care
Of all the symptoms that people suffer as a result of a whiplash injury, neck pain is the most common. Over the last 20 years, my San Diego Chiropractic Center has successfully provided treatment for hundreds of patients who have been injured in automobile accidents. Most of those patients indicate that their worst injury as a result of the accident involves their necks.
Whiplash accidents have a magnified effect on our necks because the muscles that support our necks are relatively week compared to the weight of our heads that they have to support. When we are in a rear-end type of accident that is known for producing neck injuries, the impact produces a wave of energy that travels up our spines and snaps our heads and necks sort of like when you crack a whip. The result is neck pain.
The muscles that move and support the neck and head simply become overwhelmed by the “whipping” motion of the spine and they end up getting stretched, strained, torn and sometimes even their attachment points are torn from the bone. Sounds painful doesn’t it? I have been unfortunate enough to experience this type of injury on a few occasions and I can confirm that it can be quite painful.
I have explained in blog posts in the past that joint injuries, like whiplash, follow a predictable path. In cases of whiplash, the joint is irritated / injured by the accident. The joint then becomes inflamed and the muscles around the injured joint spasm in order to limit movement of the injured joint. The inflammation causes pain and the muscle spasm causes stiffness and tightness. If the inflammation lasts for a long enough period of time, like more than 7 to 10 days, scar tissue and adhesions begin to form which further limit joint motion and also become a source of pain.
It is because of this process that a seemingly simple car accident injury can cause a lifetime of pain if it is not treated properly and in a timely manner.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
Arthritis and Back Pain
Arthritis is a scary word to most people. It is also a condition that most of think we will never be afflicted with.
In my San Diego Chiropractic clinic, I see people every day who suffer from the effects of arthritis. Besides the fact that arthritis slows you down and limits your physical abilities, it also causes pain. Neck pain, back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain and even headaches (secondary to the neck pain) are common complaints from people with arthritis.
Most of the patients that we provide chiropractic treatment for are suffering from a type of arthritis know as osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease, degenerative arthritis and wear & tear arthritis. The term osteoarthritis describes a type of arthritis that occurs because of a wearing down of the joint. Other types of arthritis such as rheumatoid are due to a more aggressive auto immune response that destroys the joints much faster than osteoarthritis.
In some cases, osteoarthritis is the result of some injury to the joint that resulted in unnatural or awkward movements of that joint. In the medical community we refer to these abnormal movements as “biomechanical abnormalities” In many cases, a joint has to be exposed to biomechanical abnormalities for years before the joint becomes laden with arthritis.
In my chiropractic office, we treat many patients for automobile accidents. I always tell these patients that while I am not trying to minimize the pain that they are currently suffering from, the most important aspect of their entire treatment program is to help restore normal biomechanics of the spine. This is because eliminating the pain associated with car accident injuries is important but the initial pain that comes with a car accident is only a fraction of the long-term discomfort that comes with biomechanical abnormalities (arthritis).
Of course I am referring to a process that involves whiplash of a joint leading to scar tissue formation causing abnormal biomechanics that results in arthritic joints.
We do provide effective treatment for the PAIN of arthritis but there is no treatment that CURES it.
The bottom line is this: If you have neck pain or back pain now, get treatment for it before it becomes an incurable disorder like arthritis.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones