Car Accident: Back Injury?

Let me first state how sorry I am to hear about this especially right before the wedding. Remember this that muscle has a memory and until someone works on getting the muscles back to where they were prior to the injury this is going to keep occurring. The symptoms of this are consistent with what you are saying and no MRI is going to show it. I hope that she is still in physical therapy and has someone that is working with her on a one to one basis. At this stage the use of modalities is of little value. She needs myofascial release techniques, biofeedback, and a gentle approach to reconditioning. Posture is an excellent detector of some of the problems. Look at pictures of your wife before the accident and look at her now. Do you see any changes, they maybe subtle but if there the therapist is going to have to work in those areas to correct the problems. You do not state where the numbness is going in the arm and hand. This is important for it tells what pathway is being involved and that again is another way for the therapist to work in the problem. The lower back bulge is something that can be worked upon but it again must be remembered that a track has been formed in the disc wall and that will never heal. So she must be taught how to influence the disc material to stay away from that escape route. Here again posture is the key. Talk to the therapist about what is going on and how you feel. If this person is not doing hands on work, by that I mean actually working the muscles and body with his or her hands, then you need to find another one. You want a person that is willing to spend the time in a one to one basis. This is usually found in a private setting as opposed to a hospital or doctor owned facility. For pain the use of ice works the best. Use if for fifteen minutes per hour when possible. This will reduce the pain and any residual swelling that might still be there. If you have a rolling pin lay on that while on the floor. You can use an empty one liter soda bottle filled with water and then frozen solid. Replace the cap and use this in place of the rolling pin. You can also use either one to roll up and down the neck while lying on the floor. Either one will support the neck and give it a chance to relax. You can try this one if you and your wife are willing. Lie on a strong table such as the dining room table and have her head at the end of the table. Place your fingers under her head as if cradling it. Place the fingertips just along the bony ridge of the bottom of the skull where the neck muscles and the skull join. This is going to be hard on your fingers until you get used to it but it will help with the headaches and muscular irritation. Have her put her head on the fingertips and just relax. It will take a few seconds to minutes for her to relax but when she does there will be a strong release of tension in that area. Do this as often as she needs it. There are devices that will do the same thing but they are expensive, ask the therapist if he or she is familiar with them. For the midback pain take two tennis balls and put them on a wall and have her lean into them while going up and down the wall covering the area where the pain is located. This can also be done on the floor. Without seeing her it is going to be more difficult to prescribe an exercise routine so that will have to be left to a therapist. Also talk to the therapist about neurotensioning releases as this should also help to reduce the irritation in the neck and lower back. Good luck!

The same thing happened to me...they kept giving me different medicines to find something that would work and nothing helped. I was missing school, my grades were going down because I would take a pain pill when I got home and not do any work. I was calling out of work all the time. My suggestion is for her to get over her fear of a chiropractor because that was the only thing that helped me. They told me I had a pinched nerve in my neck causing all of these things, my 2 vertabrae were scrubbing together causing everything to hurt. I feel wonderful now...You'll have to go back every once in a while to get ajusted. but it will save you alot of money on therapy and medicine. You don't need any of that.

Richard makes a good point about muscle memory...however, I'll go one step further and discuss that the brain establishes "memory" of a pain. The interaction of pain within the brain is very complex and can perpetuate the sensation of pain much longer than it takes for tissue recovery.

I disagree about myofascial release....it's completely unscientific and unreliable and will only foster her dependence on clinicians. She needs a treatment approach that puts control back in HER hands...not passive treatments like MFR. She needs to be given strategies of how SHE can influence her recovery.

Her symptoms are also consistent with a persistent mechanical disorder...despite the lack of findings on diagnostic testing because the link between pathoanatomical findings and pain is often very poor.

Therefore, I would highly recommend that she see a PT who is:

A: Certified in mechanical diagnosis and therapy (http://www.mckenziemdt.org)/

and

B: Has a thorough understanding of processes involved with the perpetuation of pain...I'd find someone who is familiar with the research of G. Lorimer Mosely or David Bulter.

With the full battery of tests being negative I suspect she is malingering in order to avoid her wifely duties. My brother experienced the same with his wife after she fell off a bicycle later to find out she was faking for several years. He was devastated. I suggest consulting with an attorney and moving on with your life. Good luck.