Joint Injuries After a Car Accident: Measured and Treated Within 14 Days

Joints are injured when a crash forces them beyond their normal range. The facet joints of the neck and back are compressed and sheared as the spine whips. The sacroiliac joints, where the spine meets the pelvis, are loaded when the lap belt holds the pelvis while the trunk keeps moving. Those two are the most common joint injuries after a crash, and the ones most often missed.

The wrists and elbows are injured by bracing on the steering wheel. The shoulder is loaded by the seat belt. The knee strikes the dashboard. The ankle twists under the pedal. Side impacts at the intersections along Atlantic Boulevard and Copans Road add the door as a source. Which joint and which direction of force tells us where the ligaments tore.

Dr. Carol McNamara-Krauss is a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician (DC), license CH5281. Each involved joint is examined for swelling, tenderness, and warmth; its range of motion is measured and compared to the other side; and its ligaments are stress-tested one at a time for laxity. The facet and sacroiliac joints have specific orthopedic tests that reproduce the pain when the joint is the source. All findings are recorded the same day.

X-rays are ordered when there is bone tenderness, when the joint cannot bear weight, or when instability is found on testing. An MRI is ordered for suspected cartilage, labral, or major ligament tears, through our imaging and specialist referral process. A joint that tests unstable is not adjusted until imaging clears it.

Chiropractic adjustments are the core treatment for a joint that has stiffened or locked after a sprain: they restore normal motion so the ligaments heal at the right length. Dr. McNamara-Krauss adjusts the facet joints, the sacroiliac joints, and the extremity joints, matching the technique to the joint and the stage of healing.

Class IV laser therapy on the LightForce system reduces swelling in and around the joint in the acute phase. Shockwave therapy on the Chattanooga system is used on the ligaments and tendons of extremity joints that have plateaued, never on the spine and never on the same area as laser. Therapeutic ultrasound is used on the joint capsule, and electrical stimulation reduces spasm in the muscles crossing the joint.

A mild joint sprain improves over a few weeks. Ligaments heal slowly, so a moderate sprain takes longer, and an unstable joint that does not tighten up with time goes to an orthopedic specialist. Joints treated early regain full motion more often than joints left to stiffen. We re-measure range of motion and re-test stability at set intervals.

For the claim, the record contains the initial findings for each joint with range-of-motion numbers compared side to side, ligament stress test results, imaging results, the treatment applied at every visit including which joint received laser or shockwave, and your reported pain and function, in a proprietary case documentation system built in consultation with personal injury attorneys. Narrative reports are prepared on request and the file is sent as one PDF. See medical documentation for attorneys.