Logic would suggest that in cases when a person is permanently injured in a motor vehicle accident that there should be hard evidence to identify the structure that was ripped or torn. Broken bones or dislocated joints are obvious, but not the most common source of whiplash injury. There is no magical physical exam procedure that can tell whether small ligaments have taken damage. These structures do not show up on X-rays at all, and even on MRI, they can be inconclusive. When a joint has severe structural instability, we can sometimes get clues from taking X-rays with the neck bent to end range, but even that is a poor predictor of permanent injury.
Sadly, the only foolproof way to measure complete tissue damage is by dissection through autopsy after a person is dead. Luckily, studies like the one cited below have proven that these injuries do exist, which means that there is some reasonable hope of a courtroom defense for victims who do everything reasonable to reach pre-injury status, but have permanent limitations. Next time, we will begin to outline some of the best evidence for strategies in reducing the chances of permanent impairment from a motor vehicle crash, which we use at Creekside Chiropractic & Rehabilitation.
Taylor JR, Taylor MM. Cervical spinal injuries: An autopsy study of 109 blunt injuries. J Musculoskeletal Pain 1996;4:61-79.
-Dr. Russell Petersen, DC. Creekside Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, 4027 S. Business Drive, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.