Auto Accident Injury Program in Monmouth County: Pain Management for Disc Injuries

The trauma of an auto accident can have serious repercussions for the health of the spine. For some auto accident sufferers, a crash can result in injuries to the spinal discs—the cushions between the bones of the spine. When a disc bulge occurs, trauma causes the soft, inner portion of the disc to bulge out of its protective covering. The result is pressure on the nerves that causes pain. A disc injury in which this soft material moves more significantly back toward the spinal cord is considered a disc herniation.

The Auto Accident Injury Program at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation offers the following treatments for pain management and rehabilitation after an auto accident:

Medical Care:

The Medical Director at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation is a pain management specialist with a focus on helping patients get out of pain and get moving again with the least invasive treatments possible. With this goal in mind, our doctor works closely with a team of Physical Therapists, Acupuncturists, and Chiropractic Doctors to help patients heal while placing as little stress on the body as possible.

The result of this type of care is effective pain management in a cooperative, highly skilled environment where patients can find every type of care they require under one roof. For disc injures after an auto accident, the focus is on relieving pain while addressing and fixing the cause of pain—the herniated or bulged disc—without surgery.

Spinal Decompression for Disc Injuries:

Spinal Decompression is an effective tool for healing disc injuries while simultaneously reducing pain. It is a non-surgical, drug-free option for correcting the actual cause of pain. This treatment works by gently separating the bones of the spine to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves. This process creates a vacuum-like effect in which negative pressure draws the bulging disc material back into its shell. In this way, the disc is able to heal.

Physical Therapy:

A physical therapy program for disc problems caused by auto accidents may include both active and passive rehabilitation to restore movement and flexibility and relieve pain. Active therapy is the exercise component of physical therapy. Under the guidance of a physical therapist, exercise can be used to minimize pain and help patients build strength and stability to avoid future injuries. The passive component of physical therapy might include laser therapy, ice and heat therapy, ultrasound, and/or electrotherapy.

Acupuncture for Disc Injuries:

This ancient Chinese therapy is extremely useful for auto accident injury sufferers. In addition to providing relief from stress and anxiety, acupuncture stimulates the body to relieve pain naturally (therefore providing pain management that is less reliant on painkilling medications). Acupuncture accomplishes this by stimulating the body to release certain feel-good chemicals. For example, endorphins provide pain relief on par with opiate pain relievers, while serotonin helps to interrupt pain signals before they are able to reach the brain.

Chiropractic and Disc Injuries:

Because disc injuries directly affect the spine, chiropractic care is an intuitive choice. There is a common misconception that chiropractic care for disc injuries involves forcefully ‘popping’ the disc material back into place. In reality, when disc injuries occur as the result of an auto accident, chiropractic care uses gentle manipulation to restore the health of the spine while helping to relieve pain.

Steroid Injections: For some auto accident sufferers, disc injuries can cause pain severe enough to restrict a patient’s ability to function. The pain management specialist at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation may then recommend and perform an Epidural Steroid Injection. This is a minimally invasive procedure that reduces inflammation and pain in the spinal nerves by delivering a long-lasting corticosteroid into the epidural space (the area between the protective covering of the vertebrae and spinal cord). The purpose of this treatment is to relieve pain so that patients may begin to heal naturally with the use of physical therapy, spinal decompression traction, and/or chiropractic care.

Auto Accidents, Disc Injuries, and Pain Management at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation

If you have recently experienced an auto accident, please contact our Red Bank, NJ pain management facility to learn more about treatment for disc injuries and other painful conditions.