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What Does a Herniated Disk After a Car Accident Feel Like?

Car accidents can lead to a wide range of injuries—even collisions that happen at low speeds. Many people injured in a car accident have a herniated disk due to the force of the crash. Herniated disks occur when a vertebra pushes into the spinal canal, putting pressure on the spinal cord. While, in rare cases, some people experience no symptoms, herniated discs are associated with severe, sharp pain often. Read on to learn more about a herniated disk injury, as well as what symptoms to look for.

What Is a Herniated Disk?

Every person has disks between the vertebrae and the spine. These fluid-filled structures are designed to cushion the spine, absorbing stress and protecting it from injury. Surrounding the spine, an extensive network of nerves sends pain and numbness signals throughout the body. Disks also protect these nerve systems, and any contact between them can pinch adjacent nerves and cause pain. Herniation is the result of pressure being forced out of the disks, and it often occurs from the force of impact during a car collision.

Symptoms of a Herniated Disk

Most patients experience herniated disk symptoms primarily in the lower back, but they can occur in the neck, too. The signs and symptoms depend on the location of the affected disc, as well as whether the disk is pressing on a nerve. Often, people only feel the symptoms of a herniated disk on one side of the body. Aside from pain and discomfort in the back and neck, some of the signs indicating you may have a herniated disk include:

• Sharp Arm or Leg Pain. A herniated disk in the neck often causes pain in the shoulder and arm. The pain may shoot into your arm or leg when coughing, sneezing, or moving into certain positions. A herniated disk in the lower back often leads to pain in the buttocks, thigh, and calf. Some patients also feel pain in the foot.

• Numbness/Tingling. Herniated discs—no matter the location—often cause radiating numbness or tingling in the body part(s) that contain the affected nerves.

• The nerves affected by herniated disks often cause nearby muscles to weaken. Without treatment, this can lead to a greater risk of stumbling or a reduced ability to lift or hold things.

Sometimes herniated disks exist without any symptoms, and patients only learn of the problem through a spinal image. If you’ve been in a car accident—even a minor one—or if you experience any of the symptoms described above, make an appointment with your healthcare provider to determine the source of the problem. 

Seek Treatment for a Herniated Disk

If you’re suffering from a herniated disk after a car accident—or you suspect you might be—seek medical attention immediately. Often, physical therapy, chiropractic care, or interventional spine treatments can provide long-lasting relief from pain and other symptoms of a herniated disk. Take the first step toward recovery and reach out to Impact Medical Group of Tampa today. We’ll provide you with a precise diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan that supports all stages of your recovery. Call us today at (813) 283-1910 for your free consultation.

What Is Considered an Emergency Medical Condition?

If you have been in an accident in the Sun City Center area, and your injuries are severe enough that the lack of immediate medical care could put your well-being in jeopardy, you may have what is designated as an “Emergency Medical Condition,” or EMC. 

But how do you know if you have an EMC? That’s what we’re here for!

Learn what could be considered an Emergency Medical Condition from our medical team at Impact Medical Sun City Center.

What is an Emergency Medical Condition?

People who are diagnosed with an emergency medical condition (EMC) have injuries that are caused by acute symptoms of “sufficient severity” and if they don’t receive immediate medical treatment, their injuries could result in impairment, serious health complications, or loss of bodily function.

An EMC must:

• Pose a serious threat to a patient’s health.
• Possibly cause serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of a body organ or part.

Situations where an EMC may be declared, include:

• Bleeding that won’t stop
• Severe difficulty breathing
• Change in mental status
• Unconsciousness
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Head or spine injury
• Deep or large wounds
• Severe injuries
• Smoke inhalation
• Seizures
• Severe burns
• Severe abdominal pain

Who Can Determine an EMC?

This EMC designation is determined at the discretion of the medical provider who treats the individual following an accident. Only doctors, dentists, physician’s assistants, and registered nurse practitioners can determine if a patient has an EMC.

To make things more complicated, there isn’t an EMC form that your physician can fill out and present to your insurance company. Instead, your medical record must state that you suffered an EMC as the result of a car accident if you plan to seek compensation for your injuries.

How Does an EMC Affect Insurance Compensation?

When you are involved in a car accident in the state of Florida, regardless of fault, your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits will pay for your initial medical bills, but you are required to receive treatment within 14 days of your accident.

Your insurance company will pay 80% of your initial medical bills up to the limits stated in your policy. If your doctor determines that you have an Emergency Medical Condition, you will be entitled to up to $10,000 in PIP benefits. Otherwise, your benefits are limited to $2,500.

If your doctor does not believe that the person’s injuries are an EMC, then the individual will only be eligible for $2,500 in PIP benefits.

Why Does PIP have a 14-Day Rule?

Florida’s 14-day PIP rule exists for two reasons. First, waiting to get medical attention could make injuries worse. The sooner you receive care, the sooner you can prevent complications and minimize your injuries.

Second, proving that the accident was the cause of your injuries is critical to making an insurance claim. When you receive medical care right away, the link between your injuries and the car accident is clear and can be documented to ensure easier settlements.

The 14-day rule exists to help accident victims get the treatment that they deserve while ensuring that accident claims are accurate and valid.

How Should a Doctor Report an EMC?

The bare minimum that is required by law, is for a doctor to state in their medical report that a patient “had/has an emergency medical condition.”

A treating medical provider should add the definition of an EMC to their report, but it is not required.

Don’t Wait, Get Treatment Today

If you have been in a car accident, no matter the severity of your injuries, you should seek medical care immediately to ensure that you are entitled to your insurance benefits under Florida Law.

Our compassionate team of doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists are here to help you heal and move forward from injuries.

The road to recovery starts here. Call Impact Sun City Center today; (813) 938-5195!

Can Whiplash From a Car Accident Cause TMJ?

Suffering from TMJ, or temporomandibular joint disorders, after a car accident? This condition is more common than you might think, and you don’t even have to injure your jaw in the collision to experience it. In fact, research from the American Dental Association (ADA) found that up to one-third of people who suffer from whiplash from a car accident will develop TMJ within one year after the incident. Here’s what you need to know about the relationship between whiplash and TMJ, and how you can effectively treat these injuries.

Whiplash From a Collision Can Cause TMJ

Many people mistakenly believe that you have to injure the jaw itself to develop TMJ following a car accident, but research shows that there’s a correlation between whiplash trauma and TMJ. Whiplash is the most common car accident injury, and it occurs when a person’s head or neck moves rapidly in response to impact. The force can injure soft tissues, tendons, muscles, and more.

Whiplash causes damage to the jaw by putting strain on the temporomandibular joints. These critical joints are stressed after whiplash trauma, impairing proper jaw function and causing pain in the jaw joint and the muscles that control its movement.

The symptoms of both whiplash and TMJ may not occur until days, weeks, or months after a car accident. If you’ve been in a collision—even a minor fender bender—you should visit your healthcare provider to determine if you’ve been injured, even if you don’t feel any pain or discomfort. Early detection and treatment can keep any underlying problems from getting worse.

People who develop TMJ after an accident often experience pain in the trigeminal region of the face which includes everything but the nose and up to the temples. People with whiplash-related TMJ report more symptoms than other TMJ patients. They’re also more likely to have symptoms like headaches, limited jaw opening, and stress. Some of the other common indicators of TMJ to look out for include:

• Clicking or popping when opening or closing the mouth
• Difficulty chewing
• Face, jaw, or neck pain
• Ringing in the ears
• Vertigo

How to Recover From Whiplash-Related TMJ

While most common cases of TMJ are temporary, that’s rarely the case for TMJ related to car accidents and whiplash. If you develop TMJ after a collision, you can’t expect your symptoms to go away on their own—you need to seek out professional treatment.

While the average TMJ patient visits a dentist to seek relief from their symptoms, people with accident-related TMJ need to address the root of the problem first—whiplash. The experienced medical team at Impact Medical Group of Brandon provides compassionate and patient-centered care that not only addresses symptoms of whiplash, but also the TMJ that often accompanies it. We’re ready to create a customized treatment plan for your situation, so you can get back to enjoying life again. Call us today at (813) 522-8885 for your free initial consultation.

How Long Do Nerve Root Block Injections Last?

While pain is a normal part of life, chronic pain isn’t. Whether you’re suffering from arthritis, a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or other chronic conditions, you don’t have to tough it out and live with the pain—or resort to habit-forming prescription painkillers. A nerve root block injection is a simple, minimally invasive procedure that provides near-instant pain relief for a variety of conditions. Read on to learn what’s involved in a nerve root block procedure, and how long you can expect the pain relief to last.

What Is a Nerve Root Block Injection?

A nerve root block injection is a simple procedure that’s designed to both relieve pain and help your body heal. They work by numbing any nerves that are causing your discomfort, relieving your pain right at its source.

Nerve root block injections target compressed spinal nerve roots. When these roots are irritated or inflamed, they often cause severe back pain that can radiate to your lower or upper extremities since nerves connect your entire body.

Even if you can point to the general area where you’re feeling pain, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact source—that’s where nerve root blocks can help. Your medical team can use a nerve root block to isolate the problematic nerve root and send medication directly to it, immediately “turning off” the pain. Nerve root blocks are ideal for treating a wide range of pain disorders including:

• Arthritis
• Cancer-related pain
• Chronic regional pain syndrome
• Headaches, including migraines
• Lower back pain
• Nerve damage or compression from conditions like herniated discs and spinal stenosis
• Pain after surgery

What to Expect During a Nerve Root Block Procedure

A nerve root block is a minimally invasive procedure that takes only 30 minutes to one hour to perform. Your medical team will clean the skin and numb the affected area with a local anesthetic. Using a fluoroscopic X-ray, your doctor will insert a needle into position within your spine, injecting a contrast dye to ensure the correct nerve root is being targeted.

Once the needle is in the correct spot, your doctor administers the nerve root block between the targeted nerve root and the vertebrae, injecting local anesthetic to the area and a steroid like dexamethasone. Typically, you can resume normal activities the day after the procedure.

How Long Does Pain Relief From a Nerve Root Block Injection Last?

While results vary from person to person, nerve root block injections typically provide pain relief for one to two weeks. Depending on the source of your pain, your healthcare provider may recommend a series of nerve root block injections to deliver long-term relief while the nerve heals.

In some severe cases, you may be recommended an RFA (radiofrequency ablation) procedure as a permanent solution that damages or destroys problematic nerve endings. By reducing chronic nerve irritation, nerve root blocks can be a useful tool to help nerves heal.

Are Nerve Root Block Injections Right for You?

If you’re living with chronic pain, nerve root blocks can address your symptoms right at the source. Want to learn more about how this simple, minimally invasive procedure can improve your quality of life? Reach out to the medical team at Impact Medical Group of Sarasota today. Call us at (941) 222-1157 to schedule your free consultation!