by Patricia Albers

Created on: November 30, 2008   Last Updated: February 27, 2012

Motor vehicle accidents can result in painful bodily injuries that often require extensive and expensive medical treatments. Typical injuries to the back, spinal cord and shoulder include: herniated disk, disk bulge, contusions, compressions, damage to the anterior and lateral corticospinal tracts, lumbar and lower back strain and sprains, dislocated shoulders, rotator cuff injuries, muscle tears, and other injuries requiring arthroscopic surgery.

The above-mentioned injuries often manifest with severe pain resulting in psychological as well as physical trauma; immediate care is essential in preventing long-term sustained injuries. An examination of each type of injury and their correlating treatments provides an understanding the complexity and nature of these conditions.

Back injuries are among the most common forms of injuries from motor vehicle accidents and include the herniated disk (also referred to as a disk bulge, slipped or ruptured disk) that can leave deposits of disk material in the spinal canal. This type of disk damage occurs most often in the lumbar (lower back) area of the spine; soft tissue injuries such as lumbar strains and sprains also tend to manifest in this area and can result in possible tearing of ligaments and tendons. Compression of nerve roots causes sensory or motor changes, spasms, sciatica, and numbness and tingling in the legs and feet; other complications include contusions (spinal bruising). Pain medication is the primary course of treatment; surgery is the secondary treatment for non-responders to medication. Surgeries include diskectomy, microdiskectomoy and chemonucleolysis (involving enzyme injection to dissolve gelatinous material).

The most serious type of injury from motor vehicle accidents is damage to the anterior and lateral corticospinal tracts; approximately 50% of all spinal cord injuries are the result of automobile accidents. These types of spinal cord injuries can be permanently debilitating causing quadriplegia, paraplegia, loss of skilled movements, sensory loss in specific areas, loss of instinctual reactions and various autonomic disturbances. The full extent of damage is not always apparent upon initial examination; the injuries may escalate during the hours and days following the accident. Diagnosis is determined by CT scans and contrasting MRI scans. 85% of people with spinal cord injuries who survive the first 24 hours live at least 10 years after the accident. Methylprednisone injections help to control

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