What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Have I been Injured?
In a car accident, injury to the spine usually results as the neck is forcibly thrust into extension (backwards) then flexion (forward), with either downward compression or upward distraction of the head and neck. This is a dynamic trauma which causes damage to the ligaments and supporting structures of the spine known as AOMSI - Alteration Of Motion Segment Integrity. Research tells us that 65% of people involved in car accidents, receive this injury. The old soft tissue injury (whiplash) theory has been replaced by the understanding that the end result of dynamic trauma is ligament laxity and muscle atrophy. Sophisticated diagnostic tests can reveal damage that is not visible to the human eye.
I follow the AMA Guides and order radiographic analysis of your x-rays by special software that is the only quantifiable, objective way to measure ligament damage and document subsequent impairment. If you have AOMSI, it must be treated properly. It can have a major effect on your claim and prognosis, as the AMA rates it as an impairment of 25% of your entire body. It is equally as important to discover if you have ligament laxity and treat it effectively as it is to document it and represent it to insurance companies as it carries a very high rating for settlement valuation. But don’t worry, if we feel you have the signs of ligament laxity, we’ll tend to it quickly and efficiently.