Question
I was a passenger in a high speed head on collision in which I was violently thrown and twisted against the seatbelt and airbag deployed 6 months ago. I had severe chest pain immediately afterwards and continued to have continuous chest pain for 2-3 months afterwards. Doctors said it was just costochondritis. I finally had a bone scan which showed a healing sternal fracture and sternal clavicular injuries. Also, MRIs showed herniated thoracic disk. Some days I am OK, other days I wake up in the middle of the night with sternal pain and the same left sided shoulder pain I had immediately after the wreck. I am a 63 year old woman. Doctors tell me it will take a long time to start feeling better and just keep taking ibuprofen. Do you have any suggestions and is this even normal to have pain 6 months later? Thank you.

Answer
Hi Maria,

6 months is common for ligament and/or tendon injuries. Being that there were sterno-clavicular injuries, this brings about some necessity for therapeutic intervention; namely Physical Therapy or Chiropractic to make sure proper motion and alignment of the shoulder girdle is attained, along with strengthening of weak areas, as well as addressing any myofascial and ergonomic concerns. Healing is typically slow due to the nature of the injury as well as age, however; 6 months being considered a chronic condition with ongoing pain severe enough to waken sleep, there may be additional therapeutic benefits beyond ibuprofen for pain and inflammation control.

I wish you all the best.

Regards,

Dr. Steve
www.NeckSolutions.com