Missouri Back Injury Attorney

Symptomatic Worsening of Prior Back Problems

Low and chronic back pain is one of the most common symptoms bringing people into the doctor’s office and many people have chronic back conditions, such as degenerative disk disease (or arthritis of the spine), a non-symptomatic disk herniation, muscle spasm, and osteoporosis leading to compression fractures of the spine. Even in a minor fall or car accident, the chronic injury already present could worsen because it is more susceptible to further injury.

Mechanism of Injury

With most chronic conditions of the back, the injuries you are susceptible to include vertebral fracture, muscle sprain, and disk herniation. The injury would occur secondary to compressive forces or a blunt hit to the back. If the vertebrae are already weakened by disk disease or osteoporosis, the force required to break the bone is much less. The same concept applies to the disk herniation and muscle sprain.

Symptoms and Treatment

Symptoms will depend on the injury. A vertebral fracture will cause localized pain along with possible weakness, numbness, and/or tingling in an area on her abdomen or legs. The same symptoms could occur with a disk herniation. A muscle sprain however may cause generalized low back pain.

Treatment for any of these conditions will most likely include an anti-inflammatory pain medication like Motrin or Aleve. Any condition causing neurologic deficits or sign of nerve injury (the weakness, numbness, tingling) will often require surgery to relieve the pressure off of the nerve. Finally, heat and ice for a muscle sprain, as well as continue to do your normal daily activities.

Prognosis

This depends significantly on the exact type of injury.