Case Study #7
Patient: 44 year old female, 5’-7”, 215lbs, blood pressure 144/92mmHg, pulse 86bpm, and 16 breaths per minute.
Mechanism of Injury: The victim was involved in a 3 car pile-up accident and was the car in the middle. She did not go to the hospital.
Subjective: She reports severe discomfort in her right knee that is getting worse. She presents to the office with swelling in the fingers and has difficulty walking or sitting with pain rated 8/10.
Visual Inspection: Her right knee was swollen by 3cm compared to the left.
Manual Palpation: She had severe muscle spasms in her quadriceps and hamstrings with swelling in the anterior compartment of the quadricep tendons and posterior politeal fossa.
Range of Motion Assessment: She could not bend her knee past 30 degrees and had a flexion contracture of 11 degrees.
Knee X-Rays: Bone density is adequate with no evidence of fracture. There is evidence of soft tissue swelling in the suprapatellar and infrapatellar spaces. She was referred for an MRI, and then to the orthopedic surgeon for a consultation. There was 30mL of fluid was drawn from her knee. There is mild loss of joint space on the medial femorotibial plateau.
Chiropractic Treatment Day 1: After treatment with an ice pack, vibromassage, and an arthrostim adjustment, her right knee pain decreased to 5/10 and could bend her knee to 110 degrees with a flexion contracture of 6 degrees.
After 1 Week of Treatment: Her right knee pain was a 3/10 and she was able to drive a car without discomfort. Walking and sitting caused very little discomfort.
The patient was released on the 4th week of treatment due to improved mobility, strength, and reduced pain to 0/10. Her blood pressure was 132/86mmHg.
Many patients who seek our chiropractic services have similar outcomes, with improved ranges of motion, increased strength, improved mood, and normalized blood pressure.
Knee injuries can be caused by car accidents, and with diagnostic x-rays and chiropractic care, pain and function can be improved with the proper referrals, delicate manipulative therapy, and home care instructions.
Call 614-428-9310 to schedule your car accident appointment and possible knee x-rays today!