Here’s a sobering fact; hundreds of car accidents happen on Arizona’s roads every day. Some are called “fender benders”, with light damage to the car and no apparent sign of injury to the driver or passengers. Other accidents, however, are considered “wrecked” or “totalled”, with considerable damage to the vehicle and sometimes severe injuries to the occupants.

No matter the accident, though, whether a fender bender or wreck, getting a spine evaluation afterwards is essential to your health and your future. The effect a car accident has on the human spine, even at 10 miles per hour, can be devastating. At higher speeds, it can be downright crippling. Depending on the type and direction, the extreme forces and stress placed on the spine during an accident can be tremendous.

For example, a whiplash at 20 miles an hour can change the normal curvature of your neck in a split second. There might be some pain too, which will likely subside in a few days or weeks. At that point, most folks think that their spine is OK and back to normal (if they even think of it at all). They don’t have much pain, and things seem fine.

But, if left untreated, the cervical vertebrae and the delicate but durable discs between them will slowly but surely deteriorate, degenerate, and cause untold pain and misery. Maybe not now, and maybe not for 5 or 10 years, but that neck injury auto accident, if left undetected because you didn’t get a spine evaluation, will most definitely cause you pain and suffering in the future.

OK, let’s take a breather and learn a little about the spine, shall we?

Your spine is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment, so to speak, in your entire body. It protects the delicate but powerful spinal cord, as well as the spinal nerves that branch off of it between every vertebra. These spinal nerves are the ‘wires’ that connect your brain to your body, an important connection indeed.

Now, here’s the thing; the spine has a specific shape, with 4 characteristic and essential curves. The most important is the cervical curve, but the lumbar or low back curve is a close second. The thoracic (mid-back) curve and the curve of the sacrum make up the remaining two. These curves are there for a reason, significant structures that shouldn’t be changed.

Auto accidents forcefully do just that, unfortunately, changing the spine in ways that are most unhealthy.

• Rear-end accidents cause whiplash, changing the cervical spine instantly and, if untreated, permanently. Headaches, numbness, tingling, loss of feeling, severe neck pain and more are the direct result.
• A side-impact or T-bone accident can severely damage the thoracic spine. The nerves here branch out to the most critical organs in the human body, including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and more. Damage the spine, and those nerves will be damaged too, causing many health problems.
• A head-on collision can throw the pelvis and sacrum entirely out of alignment, which has extreme repercussions for the low back. Sciatica, knee pain, severe low back pain, and foot pain are all by-products of that accident.

Again, all of these changes happen in an instant. You won’t see them, and the pain might go away for a while, but they are there, and they will cause you health problems and pain later in life. Only a spinal evaluation will give you the information you need to treat them correctly and save yourself a world of pain down the road.

Is this hyperbole? Respectfully, not at all. Here at Stridewell, we take care of patients every day for car accidents they had years, sometimes decades ago. During their spinal evaluation, we show them the problem and, depending on the degeneration and damage (which can often be severe), we can approximate how long ago a car accident forcefully changed their spine during a car accident. We do what we can to help them, but for some, it’s a losing battle, sadly, due to years of spinal degeneration.

They didn’t get a spine evaluation, but you can.

If you’ve recently had a spine injury car accident or a neck injury car accident, don’t wait; get your spine evaluated. It’s easy, it’s fast and, and we take care of the insurance paperwork. If there’s no major problem, the excellent providers at Stridewll will tell you. If it’s something you need to take care of, we’ll let you know that too. Plus, we’ll explain what it is in plain English and give you options for treatment to get your spine back to normal.

Your spine is too important not to get a spine evaluation after an accident, even if it was “minor”. If you have questions, need advice or would like to schedule your spine evaluation with Stridewell, call 480-550-9355 today. If you prefer, you can visit www.stridewell.com and schedule an appointment on our website. Don’t wait! Get your spine evaluated today, and make sure your future is pain-free.

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