West Valley Family Clinic Blog

I cannot believe the number of patients that I have seen in my office following a motor vehicle crash who have been checked at the emergency room and sent away being told that they are “OK”.

I am not bad mouthing the emergency room doctors; I am just trying to educate people. Emergency room doctors are trained to and do handle emergencies very well. When a patient goes into the emergency room following a motor vehicle crash, the doctors are going to look for three things. First, they are going to make sure that the patient is breathing, and that there is nothing that will threaten their ability to breathe in the near future. Second, they will check to see if there are any fractures, or grossly dislocated joints. This may or may not include the use of X-ray or other imaging modalities depending on the severity of the crash, and outward signs of these types of injuries like swelling and discoloration. Third, they will check for any bleeding both externally and internally. In the absence of these conditions, they are not an “emergency.” The patient will usually be given a prescription for anti-inflammatories, or pain pills or both and told to rest for a day or two.

Now let me be very clear, if any of the above conditions exist, broken bones, compromised airway, or bleeding then the emergency room is exactly where I would want to be. However, most car crashes are low speed crashes.

This means that they happen at 10 miles per hour or less. These types of crashes do not usually produce broken bones, or internal bleeding. What they do cause is severe soft tissue injuries. These are injuries to the ligaments and tendons, and capsules around joints. The joints of the spine are the most vulnerable. The sad thing is that these types of injuries are not looked for and the patient is told that they are “OK.”

These types of injuries if left untreated will lead to premature degeneration in the spine, as well as impaired mobility and function. Eventually, due to the misalignments of the joints and the degeneration, vital nerves are compromised, and the function of vital organs is impaired.

A patient who has this type of injury, will probably get by on pain medication for a while, and may even reach a point where they are symptom free. It may be 18 months later that they start to notice problems like headaches on a frequent basis, or shoulder pain. Sometimes they take the pain pills for a few months, and realize that they are not getting any better.

I had a patient just yesterday who was involved in a car crash two months ago. The emergency room doctor told her that she was “ok”, and gave her some pills and sent her on her way. She has been having migraine like headaches now for one month, and her X-rays show that her neck is curved backwards.

So here is what you need to do. See a chiropractor. Not just any chiropractor, but one who specializes in treating auto accident injuries. Call and ask if they need to take X-rays. If they say “no”, don’t go to them. If they say they don’t know until they see you, or that they do need X-rays, then you are probably ok to see them. Ask them if they will treat you on a medical lien if you max out your insurance coverage. If they will not, then keep looking. There is a good chance (depending on the severity of your injuries) that you will go over the insurance max. If they will only treat you until the insurance is maxed, then you may be left hanging with injuries that are not completely healed.

If you need help, feel free to send your questions to drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com. You can listen to this as a podcast at www.westvalleyfamilyclinic.com/audio/autoaccident.mp3