The following patient was treated for low back pain after a car crash in our Columbus, Ohio office:
Patient: 62 year old male, 5’-9”, 179lbs, blood pressure 134/88mmHg, pulse 88bpm, and 16 breaths per minute.
Mechanism of Injury: The victim was involved in a car crash and was hit from behind and was in the back seat at the time of the crash. He did not go to the hospital.
Subjective: He had severe discomfort in his low back and reports it is getting worse. He states it hurts when he coughs. He presents to the office with numbness in his toes and localized achy and stiff low back pain rated 9/10.
Visual Inspection: His hip was elevated on the left and his left leg was short upon lying face down. No bruising or swelling noted.
Manual Palpation: He had severe muscle guarding in his lumbar erector spinae and his left quadratus lumborum.
Range of Motion Assessment: He could not bend forward without his toes going numb or his low back from aching. His pain and numbness worsens when he coughs.
Lumbar X-Rays: Bone density is adequate with no evidence of fracture. There is no evidence of soft tissue swelling. There is decreased disc height between and L5/S1.
Chiropractic Treatment Day 1: After treatment with a cold pack, vibromassage, traction table therapy, and a spinal decompression therapy, his low back pain decreased to 7/10 and coughing still aggravated his pain but not to the same extent.
After 1 Week of Treatment: His low back pain reduced to a 5/10 and he was able to cough or sneeze with only mild discomfort.
The patient was released on the 5th week of treatment due to improved mobility, strength, and reduced pain to 0/10. His blood pressure was 122/80mmHg.
Many patients who seek our chiropractic services have similar outcomes, with improved ranges of motion, increased strength, improved mood, and normalized blood pressure.
Car accidents can cause many problems for individuals with back pain, and with diagnostic lumbar x-rays and chiropractic care, their problems were solved with back adjustments and home care instructions.
If you need treatment for low back pain after a car crash, call us at 614-428-9310 to schedule an appointment today.