Auto Accident Information by Orange County, CA
Car Accident Injury Specialist, Dr Barry Marks, Chiropractor, Orange, CA 92868
Upper Back Pain from an Auto Accident?
This is a surprisingly common complaint, with an even more surprising root cause in most cases.
Does this sound familiar after your car accident?
You have pain in the upper back, more precisely in the shoulder blade area or on the top of the “wing bone” area. You rub it, you move your shoulder around, yet still it hurts. You may have even gone to a massage therapist or physical therapist and had them massage and exercise your upper back, but still the upper back pain after your auto accident lingers. It’s hard to get comfortable. You have difficulty sitting at a desk, using a computer, talking on the phone or driving without the incessant pain.
Do you ever think,
“If only someone could just dig their fingers in deep enough to release that tension or knot in there you’d be fine…”
Right now, I want you to do a simple test. I call it the “slump” test, because I have no idea what the real name of it is or if it is named, but this simple 5-second test will pinpoint your problem.
While sitting, I want you to slump your shoulders and body forward and round your upper back. Now, while you are slumped forward, tilt your head up and try to look towards the ceiling. Slump forward again and lift your head up towards the left and then to the right.
If you felt shoulder blade or upper back pain, then your upper back problem is actually coming from your neck! Specifically, the facet or zygaophyseal joints. This is actually the most common injury in a motor vehicle collision; a sprain and damage of the facet joint. It accounts for a majority of chronic neck and upper back pain cases after an accident.
If your back did not hurt when you were slumped over and tilted your head back, then try this test.
Sit and retract your shoulder blades (try to squeeze them together behind you). Now try shrugging your left shoulder up and back then repeat on the right.
Did any of these movements cause shoulder blade pain or upper back pain? If so, then you are suffering from muscular strain in the upper back area.
These are standard tests that all car accident injury specialists should perform on your exam to determine if that upper back pain after your car accident is from your neck or your back.
For more information on car accident injuries and treatment read the articles on this site and for information on Car Accident Injury Treatment in Orange County, CA go to http://orange-car-accident.com
Car Accident Doctors, Orange County, CA
Dr Barry L Marks, Chiropractor Orange, CA 92868
Recently Injured in a Car Accident in Orange County, CA?
What you do in the first 72 hours after an auto accident can make or break your case and be the difference between lingering pain and an uncomplicated recovery.
First, you must get a medical exam immediately after the accident. If you are not examined in the first 72 hours, the insurance company will greatly discount your case. Of course this makes no logical sense and has nothing to do with medical science. Research tells us that a delay in symptoms of days, weeks, even months is the norm, not the exception. It is strictly a ploy by insurance computer systems to minimize your case. But, we don’t make the rules, we just observe them. So get checked immediately.
Important note about Car Accident doctors:MOST medical doctors, chiropractors, ER physicians and your HMO PCP have no idea how to properly evaluate let alone treat, car accident injuries. Therefore, you must take it upon yourself to find a “specialist” in auto accident and whiplash injury treatment. Choosing the wrong doc can lead to inadequate or erroneous documentation that kills your case. Worse, it could lead to improper treatment, which could be devastating, leaving you with chronic disabling headaches, neck pain or arthritis.
Next, you must follow your car accident doctor’s treatment advice. Nothing kills a case more than inconsistent treatment. Insurance companies look at your visits and dates. They count them. They analyze the frequency. They look for gaps in treatment of 1 week or more. Why? Because they know what a “real” or “legitimate” case looks like. They also know what a fake case looks like. So you need to be consistent. And again, what’s most important is that from a medical standpoint, you cannot expect to get better and avoid chronic pain or arthritis if you do not follow proper auto accident treatment guidelines as planned for you by your car accident specialist doctor. Treat it wrong up front and you will have years of suffering later.
Need a doctor in Orange County specializing in car accident treatment?
To contact Dr Barry Marks, Chiropractor, car accident treatment specialist of Orange, CA call (714) 938-0575 or go to http://orange-car-accident.com. Dr. Marks offers a limited number of Free Car Accident Severity Evaluations each month. Dr. Marks will personally sit down with you and talk about your accident. Then he will perform a space-age computerized spinal analysis to locate areas of injury. This totally painless cutting edge computer technology can even find hidden problems not easily detected from the outside. You will then be presented with a written Recommended Action Plan detailing what your next steps should be. This is all free of charge, but an appointment is required. Call (714) 938-0575 or go to the website http://orange-car-accident.com now to get your Free Car Accident Severity Evaluation.
Orange County, CA Auto Accident Injury Treatment Information
Dr Barry Marks, Chiropractor, Car Accident Injury Specialist Orange, CA
Exposing the Black & White Proof of Car Accident Neck Injuries
Victims of automobile accident injuries know full well the experience is painful. Unfortunately, many doctors are inadequately trained to identify, document and treat this specialized medical problem.
This emboldens the insurance companies to refute treatment as reasonable or to reduce settlement offers since the injuries are not “objectively” proven.
The medical literature indicates that a common objective sign of injury in an automobile crash is a reduced neck curve (hypolordosis). One study found that 91% of subjects with a reduced neck curve had been involved in an automobile accident.
Therefore, it is imperative to have neck x-rays following a car crash. Your doctor then needs to measure the angle of lordosis. Normal range is between 30 and 40 degrees. Many experts agree that closer to 40 degrees is best.
Once a measurement is made, your doctor then must begin steps to return your curve to normal. (For exercises that accomplish this goal, see previous posts on this blog) After a period of treatment (about 3 months) your doctor should take comparative x-rays and measure again. If the treatment has been successful, the angle or depth of curve should have increased.
See the radiographs to the right which show a decresead neck curve due to an auto accident followed by x-rays showing objective proof of correction after only 2 months of proper chiropractic rehabilitative treatment.
THe first x-ray is from an accidnerent victim who had completed several moitnhs fo pohysical tehrapy and medications, but contineud to suffer from neck pain and ehadaches. On consultation it was learend his neck was never x-rayed despite the fact that the rear of his car suffered significant damage.
A personalized action plan was designed that included in office treatments and at home exercises over a period of 2 months. On re-exam he was found to be suffering only mild occasional headaches and his “after” x-rays showed a significant increase in neck curve. The final measurement was 38 degrees, which is well within normal limits. The patient was then instructed in an “at home” after care exercise program to maintain proper alignment.
Objective proof of an injury is crucial to make your case to the insurance companies. If your doctor does not do this, then your case is in jeopardy and you may not receive the level of compensation you deserve. Worse yet, if your doctor does not follow this protocol and releases you with an uncorrected neck, you have a 600% increase in risk for early onset osteoarthritis and persistent headaches and neck pain.
For more information on car accident injuries see previous posts on this blog and check out the free reports, online video seminar and information at http://orange-car-accident.com
Auto accident neck injuries and neck exercises
Dr Barry L Marks, Chiropractor Orange County, CA
This is the second of three videos for neck stabilization and correction following a car accident whiplash injury. If you’ve been in an accident and have suffered a reduced neck curve as a result, then you must do these exercises to correct your neck curvature to prevent serious problems years down the road.
Video number 2 depicts Neck Extensions which are vital for restoring neck muscle strength and stamina.
For more information on car accident injury treatment, including a free online video seminar and free report, go to: http://www.orange-car-accident.com
Whiplash injuries caused by car crashes often results in damage to the neck characterized by a loss of normal curve. Medical researchers have found that a persistently reduced cervical curve increases the victims risk for early onset osteoarthritis by 600%. Therefore it is important to re-establish a normal curve as part of the rehabilitation process after an auto accident.
Previous posts gave examples of exercises to restore strength and stability and reshape the neck curve. We now present videos showing the exercises for more clarity.
Video number 1 of 3 depicts an exercise known as Head Translation. Head translation exercises are important to restore proper mechanics and function of the upper neck region, which is particularly prone to whiplash trauma.
1. Roll up a bath towel into a 4” roll, or you may use a hard foam roll, and place it on the end of your bed.
2. Lie on your back with your neck over the roll while your head hangs down over the edge of the bed.
3. Hold for 5 min/day for week one, then 10 min/day in week two, increasing to 20 min each day.
For more information on car accident injuries including a Shocking Free Report and an Online Video Whiplash Seminar, go to http://www.orange-car-accident.com
1. Lie face down on your bed or the floor.
2. Keeping your chest and shoulders down, lift your head up and attempt to look at the ceiling.
3. Hold position for 10-20 seconds depending on your strength.
4. Lower your head, then repeat 10 times.
For more information on car accident injuries including a Shocking Free Report and an Online Video Whiplash Seminar, go to http://www.orange-car-accident.com
We will assume for the sake of simplicity that you have concluded your Initial Relief Care treatment. This treatment has probably taken you anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. Your pain should now be about 70% better than when you were first injured. It is now time for the second phase of care, which is called Spinal Rehabilitation care.
The two parts to Spinal Rehabilitation Care are:
1. In office visits at roughly twice each week for approximately 4-12 weeks
2. At home care daily, 7 days a week until curve returns to normal
Your in office visits will consist of:
·Various forms of cervical (neck) traction that depends on how severe your loss of curve is to mold your neck into the proper curvature.
·Isoelectronic muscle rehabilitation also known as Russian Stimulation, to increase muscle strength in the back or your neck and shoulders.
·Myofascial release (stretching, deep muscle massage, etc) to remove muscle tension
·Chiropractic spinal adjustments to maintain proper joint alignment and freedom of movement to allow your neck to be curved.
Your “homework” will include:
·General stretching of the neck and upper back that you were assigned in Initial Relief Care to loosen the muscles followed by…
·Head translation exercise to improve upper neck motion and stability
·Neck extension exercise to strengthen the neck
·Gravity traction to stretch the muscles in the front of the neck and mold the neck into the proper curvature.
·Ice pack to relieve inflammation caused by exercise
There are 3 exercises I recommend for the neck if there is a reduced curve on x-ray following an auto accident.
Exercise 1: Head Translation
Stand or sit in a comfortable position. See figure 1.
Imagine your chin being pushed backward, while your neck stays stationary. You should feel increased tension in the upper neck region as your head slides backwards. See figure 2. Hold position for 20 seconds
Return to normal position, figure 1.
Now stick chin outward while neck remains still and hold for 20 seconds. See figure 3.
Repeat movement from position 2 to position 3, 10 times.
At the moment of impact in a typical rear-end collision, your head remains momentarily still while your body is forced forward. This instantaneous separation of the movement of your torso and head causes the neck shape to be deformed injuring muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, joint surfaces, nerves and even your brain.
This all occurs before you are even conscious of the collision. By the time you realized you were hit, your spine as already been damaged!
The degree of spine damage depends on many factors including your age, gender, body type, vehicle type, seat and head restraint type, your position at impact, previous accidents, and more. Interestingly, vehicle damage has been repeatedly shown NOT to be a good predictor of bodily injury.
One of the most reliable factors of injury are your symptoms and how soon after the collision they show up and your x-ray findings. Much research has gone into determining the long-term outlook of crash victims and how to predict whether you will recover from your injuries or not.
The presence of an abnormal neck curve on x-rays after a collision is a key factor in your prognosis. Medical researchers have found that if your neck is damaged it will change it’s shape which is readily measurable on x-ray examination. How far from normal your neck curve has deviated determines how badly you are injured and how difficult it may be to return your neck to normal.
Consider the pictures below…on the left is a normal curve that resembles a backwards “C.” On the right is an “S” shaped curve due to whiplash.
A normal “C” shaped neck curve measures between 30 and 40 degrees. There is some debate about whether or not the higher number, 40 is a steadfast norm. I believe, if you are between those numbers that is a good place to be.
Let’s compare a normal neck, Figure 1 and an abnormal neck in Figure 2:
You may have noticed that the patient is facing to the left instead of to the right as in the pictures previously, but you should also note that Fig. 1 has a nice deep curve, while Fig. 2 is very straight. This is a classic example of what is called a “hypolordosis” or decreased curve of the neck.
What you need to understand is that after your initial treatment that is designed to reduce pain by quelling inflammation and spasm, it is highly probable that your neck will still be misshaped like this. Unfortunately, doctors who do not know about or do not understand the importance of fully rehabilitating a neck after an accident, treat many crash victims. So once your pain is reduced, these doctors will unceremoniously release you from care without taking a second set of x-rays to measure your curve. You will be released with less pain, but your neck is still damaged inside and will eventually become painful again. Worse, is that later you will suffer deterioration of your neck joints and have early osteoarthritis. Medical research indicates a 600% increase in risk for early arthritis in victims with persistently reduced neck curve after a crash.As you can see, it is very important for your long-term health to correct your neck as much as possible.
In the next post, we will cover the specific neck exercises you MUST do if you have suffered an auto accident.
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Posted by Dr Barry L. Marks, DC 
What you do in the first 72 hours after an auto accident can make or break your case and be the difference between lingering pain and an uncomplicated recovery.
Posted by Dr Barry L. Marks, DC 
Victims of automobile accident injuries know full well the experience is painful. Unfortunately, many doctors are inadequately trained to identify, document and treat this specialized medical problem.
See the radiographs to the right which show a decresead neck curve due to an auto accident followed by x-rays showing objective proof of correction after only 2 months of proper chiropractic rehabilitative treatment.
instructed in an “at home” after care exercise program to maintain proper alignment.
Posted by Dr Barry L. Marks, DC 
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