Published on September 29, 2024
Many people suffer long-term injuries after a motor vehicle accident (MVA). Often, through no fault of their own, they have been subjected to extreme physical exertion on their bodies, affecting their necks and lower backs. Additionally, these injuries often lead to accelerated, premature degeneration and aging of the spine, which can lead to future problems.
Unfortunately, many clinicians believe that MVA injuries are due to muscle/ligament sprains or strains. However, these soft tissue injuries always resolve after 1-2 weeks. Pain that lasts longer than this length certainly has an anatomical basis and requires proper diagnosis and treatment.
Multiple studies show that no matter what pain you experience within 6 months, the pain persists long-term (without treatment). Therefore, early treatment can minimize the long-term effects of such accidents on the anatomy of the spine.
The most common injury after MVA is cervical sprain. When you receive an impact from behind, your neck is forced backwards into the head restraint. Then it bounces forward, your chin hits your chest, and then there’s a noticeable bounce back. This all happens in milliseconds! This kind of whiplash can damage the discs and facet joints in the neck. Additionally, it can cause severe headaches.
If the pain is on the sides of the neck, it usually comes from the facet joints of the cervical spine. There are pairs of joints at all seven vertebral levels in the neck that can be injured. Injuries to the middle and lower joints can cause pain in the middle and lower neck, while injuries to the upper cervical joints can cause pain in the upper neck and possibly skull base headaches. (cervicogenic headache).
It is important that patients receive immediate treatment after any major accident.
The results of chiropractic care can last for months. However, persistent neck pain should be addressed by: Steroid injections and further physical therapy.
Typically, two sets of steroid injections (cervical facet joint injections) are given along the neck joints. By injection, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are placed along the injured neck joint to reduce painful inflammation.
However, if pain persists after 6 months, radiofrequency ablation is usually required. With this procedure, pain emanating from the neck joint is eliminated by heating and denervation of the nerves that provide the pain path from the neck joint to the brain.
Cervical radiofrequency can work for a year or more. If there is a related decrease in neck range of motion, sometimes your doctor will recommend surgery. Operating under anesthesia While your joints are numb and you are asleep, continue to regain your pre-accident range of motion.
sometimes, cervical disc Also injured. If the pain spreads along the arm, this may help cervical epidural anesthesia or cervical nerve root injection. This places anti-inflammatory steroids along the affected nerve, causing pain in the arm. Typically, patients need Physical therapy and cervical traction as well as.
If there is no pain in the arm but the cervical disc is injured, the disc can also respond to a cervical epidural injection. Finally, surgery may be a last resort for severe neck and/or arm pain that does not respond to physical therapy or injections.
The most common MVA injury we see is lumbar disc injury. Typically, an MRI will only show a herniated disc, tear, or herniated/herniated disc that will reveal this type of lower back injury. This will usually reply lumbar epidural injectiontransforaminal injection and related physical therapy. If your back pain persists after this treatment, you may need Lumbar disc herniation diagram The exact disc that was injured can be determined as well as the extent of the injury.
If there is no response to the injection, newer techniques may be used to address disc pain. First, if there is a herniation or disc tear, part of the disc may need to be removed non-surgically (Disc-FX®). Secondly, we also have VIA Discwhich replenishes the original myeloid glycoprotein that leaks from the disc due to injury. Finally, surgery may be necessary if severe low back pain and associated sciatica occur and do not respond to treatment.
Finally, injuries can occur to the sacroiliac joints where the pelvis meets the spine. In an accident, the sacroiliac joints and ligaments may be injured. Also, if your foot is on the brake during an accident, force may be transmitted from your leg to your spine, damaging your right sacroiliac joint. This can be responded to sacroiliac joint injection.
Neck and lower back injuries are common after MVA. Pain that persists for more than 4 weeks must be diagnosed and treated correctly to obtain the best long-term outcome.
