Soft Tissue Damage

Your soft tissues are your body’s connective tissues, such as ligaments, muscles and tendons. When involved in a car accident, your soft tissues may be damaged. One of the most common types of soft tissue injuries associated with this type of accident is the whiplash. This is when the soft tissues of your neck and upper back are injured. 

S Head Injuries

Head injuries may also occur when your car unexpectedly stops or changes direction. Impact with the side window or steering wheel can cause bruising, lacerations or even internal injuries to your head. It is also possible to experience damage to the skull. In more severe cases, brain damage is possible.

Scrapes and Cuts

Scrapes and cuts are also commonly associated with this type of trauma. Loose objects in your car can turn into projectiles, including coffee mugs, cell phones, books and GPS systems. Cuts and scrapes may occur when these items hit your body during an accident. These injuries are often minor and do not require medical attention, though some may require stitches. 

If you are involved in a car accident, getting medical attention is absolutely essential. At Advanced Spine & Rehab, we will help you address your injuries in order to give you the best chance to enjoy a full recovery from the injuries you have sustained. 

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Pain Management

In order to reduce the amount of pain associated with your whiplash injury, your doctor may tell you to rest for a day or two following the injury while also applying either heat or cold to the neck every 15 minutes. Over-the-counter pain medication, prescription medications and muscle relaxants may also be recommended for pain management. Depending on the severity of the pain, numbing medication may also be injected into painful muscle areas. 

Exercise

While it is generally best to rest for a day or two following the injury, exercise is essential for recovery. Stretching and movement exercises that you can do at home will help to restore the range of motion in your neck. Some of these exercises may include rotating your neck, tilting your head, bending your neck toward your chest and rolling your shoulders.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy may also be necessary to assist with your recovery following a whiplash injury. This typically involves being guided through exercises to strengthen your muscles, improve your posture and restore normal movement. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may also be used.

To learn more about your treatment options and to create a treatment plan that works for you, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab today!

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What is the Tailbone?

The coccyx, commonly referred to as the “tailbone,” is a group of small bones that are located at the lower end of your spine. This short grouping of bones may consist of three to five vertebrae and ends in a soft point. Other than the first segment, the vertebrae are typically fused together. When you sit down, part of your upper body weight rests on your tailbone, which means that a break or injury to this part of your body is particularly painful whenever you try to sit down. 

What are the Symptoms of a Broken Tailbone?

If your tailbone is broken in a car accident, you will likely experience localized pain in the area where the tailbone is located. You may also find that the pain is triggered by certain actions and activities, such as sitting for long periods of time, leaning back while seated, standing for a long period of time or even getting up from a seated position. You may also experience pain when urinating, during bowel movements or when engaging in sexual intercourse. The pain may also radiate to your legs, though this is not common. 

How is a Broken Tailbone Treated?

Broken tailbones are usually treated without surgery, but physical therapy is often needed. Other treatment options may include pelvic floor rehabilitation, massage, manual manipulation, steroid injections and electrical nerve stimulation. Contact Advanced Spine & Rehab today to learn more about your treatment options!

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Recognizing Symptoms of a Broken Finger

You may not be surprised to learn that the fingers are the most frequently injured part of the hand. Breaks to the fingers are typically quite easy to recognize, with immediate pain and sometimes deformities being apparent. In some cases, however, there may actually still be some range of motion with only a dull amount of pain. More than likely, however, you will experience a minimum of swelling and redness in the area that as fractured or broken. 

As the swelling worsens, the finger may become progressively stiffer and more difficult to move. The swelling may even spread to nearby fingers. In more severe cases, bruising may also occur. Your finger may also become number in response to the swelling, which can cause the nerves in your fingers to become compressed.

Treating a Broken Finger

In the case of a broken finger, the injured area will need an X-ray in order to evaluate the extent of your injuries. The treatment plan will be dependent upon the type of injury you have sustained. Treatment plans may include using a splint or maybe even surgery to pin the bones or use plates and screws to keep the bones in place. To learn more about treatment options and how we can help, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab today!

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Concussion

A form of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, a concussion occurs when your brain strikes the inside of your skull. This may happen if your car comes to a sudden stop as a part of the accident, with the momentum causing your brain to continue to move forward inside of your skull. Concussions are typically characterized by the following symptoms:

• Amnesia about the accident
• Confusion
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Feeling of “pressure” inside of the head
• Headache
• Light-headedness or feeling “dazed”
• Loss of consciousness
• Nausea
• Personality changes
• Ringing in the ears
• Slurred speech

Contusion

A contusion, or a bruise on the brain, may occur when you experience direct impact on your head. You may experience a contusion if you hit your head on your steering wheel or against a window during your car accident. Typical symptoms associated with contusions include:

• Balancing issues
• Cognitive changes
• Concentration issues
• Coordination issues
• Difficulty with forming new memories 
• Difficulty with forming sentences
• Numbness or tingling in the affected area
• Slurred speech

Penetrating Wound

It is also possible to experience a penetrating head wound if an external object penetrates your skull. Symptoms of a penetrating head wound may include:

• Bleeding from the ear
• Coma
• Difficulty breathing
• Heavy loss of blood
• Loss of bowel or bladder function 
• Loss of consciousness
• Loss of movement or sensation in the limbs
• Paralysis
• Seizure

If you have experienced these or any other type of head injury from a car accident, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab to learn more about how we can help you with your treatment and recovery. 

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• Pain and swelling
• A grinding feeling when raising the arm
• Shoulder sagging
• Difficulty moving the arm and shoulder
• The formation of a bump around the area that was broken

To diagnose a broken clavicle, your doctor will need to complete an x-ray. While a broken clavicle will often heal on its own, you might need to use a splint or brace to keep your shoulder from moving while it heals. You may also need to take anti-inflammatory painkillers to help reduce the pain and swelling. In addition, range-of-motion and strengthening exercises may be necessary to help you regain full function of your arm and shoulder. 

For most people, it takes six to twelve weeks for a broken clavicle to heal. Once you are able to move your arm and shoulder without pain, you can resume some level of physical activity and therapy. It is important that you do not take on too much too soon, however, as it is possible that you could break the bone again. 

If you have suffered a broken clavicle from a car accident or other type of accident, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab today! We will be happy to help you work toward achieving recovering from your accident.

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X-Ray

An X-ray uses low levels of radiation to make your bones visible. An x-ray may also be helpful for identifying other injuries, such as a collapses lung from a rib injury. X-rays do, however, have difficulty with revealing fresh fractures, particularly if the bone is merely cracked. 

CT Scan

A CT scan may be able to reveal fractures that cannot be identified via X-ray. A CT scan can also be helpful in identifying injuries to soft tissues and blood vessels. This is because a CT scan takes X-rays from various angels and then combines them to create images of cross-sectional slices of the body’s internal structures. 

MRI

An MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnet to create cross-sectional images. This test is used to view the soft tissues and organs in order to determine if there has been any damage. An MRI may also be able to identify a more subtle fracture.

Bone Scan

A bone scan involves injecting a small amount of radioactive material into the bloodstream. This radioactive material then collects in the bone, particularly in the area where the bone is healing. In this way, it can be detected by the scanner. As such, bone scans are useful for viewing stress fractures, such as those that have been created by repetitive trauma. 

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Some of the signs that your nose was broken in a car accident include:

• Pain in the nose, particularly when touched
• Swelling of the nose
• Nosebleed
• Mucus running from the nose
• Bent or crooked nose
• Black eyes or bruises developed beneath the eyes
• Difficulty breathing through the nose
• A cracking sund when touching the nose

If your nose is broken, you should take immediate steps to stop the bleeding and to reduce the pain and swelling. You can help to stop the bleeding by sitting up so your nose is higher than your heart, leaning forward so the blood does not run down the back of your throat and pinching the soft part of your nose with your thumb and index finger for five minutes. If the bleeding still doesn’t stop, pinch your nose again for ten minutes.

To reduce the swelling, you should wrap an ice pack in a towel and place it on your nose for ten minutes. Remove the ice for then minutes and then repeat the process. Never put pressure on the ice pack. You may need to repeat this process a few times per day for the first two days after your injury occurs. 

If you require medical care due to a car accident, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab today. We will be happy to help you address all of your health and medical needs. 

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If your thumb is injured during a car accident, you will likely be able to determine whether or not it is broken fairly quickly. Some of the symptoms associated with a broken thumb include:

• Swelling at the base of the thumb
• Limited ability to move the thumb
• Extreme tenderness, severe pain or a cold or numb feeling
• Misshapen appearance

It should be noted that many of these symptoms are also associated with a severe sprain or ligament tear. Therefore, it is important to see your doctor to determine the exact nature of the injury.

Treating a Broken Thumb

Treatment for a broken thumb may be nonsurgical or surgical. Nonsurgical treatment may be the best option if the broken bone fragments have not moved too far out of place. In this case, the doctor can set the bones with a process known as closed reduction. The thumb will then be set in a spica cast for six weeks to hold it in place while it heals. 

Surgical treatment will be necessary if there is a lot of displacement of bone fragments or if the fracture reaches the CMC joint. The surgical process of resetting the bone is known as open reduction. The surgeon may need to insert a small plate, screws or wires through your skin to hold the bone pieces in place while the injury heals. 

If you have been involved in a car accident, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab to learn more about how we can help you heal.

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Symptoms of Broken Ribs

If you have broken ribs, you will find that the pain in your rib area increases when you take a breath or when you press on the injured area. You may also find that the pain increase when you bend or twist your body. Of course, the only way to confirm that you have a broken rib is to consult your doctor and to get an x-ray of the area.

Complications Associated with Broken Ribs

A number of complications are associated with broken ribs, particularly when the rib is completely broken. Some possible complications include:

• Torn or Punctured Aorta: If one of the first three ribs at the top of your rib cage is broken, a sharp end could potentially rupture your aorta or another major blood vessel.
• Punctured Lung: If one of your middle ribs is broken, a jagged edge could puncture a lung and cause it to collapse.
• Lacerated Kidney, Liver or Spleen: While the bottom ribs typically do not fracture due to their flexibility, a break in these ribs can result in damage to the kidney, liver or spleen.

If you have been involved in a car accident, contact Advanced Spine & Rehab to learn more about how we can help you recover from your injuries.

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