Question
 I was rear ended by a coal truck feb. 1, 2008. Since my accident my lower back hurts almost constantly, all of my test show no major injury, but alittle arthritis and swelling around the discs. My Dr. is blowing it all off to my pre-existing Fibro condition. My question is what and where does this lead me to? He is treating me only with pain meds.

Answer
Dear Carla,

The forces generated in a rear-impact crash can be enormous...especially when you get hit by a vehicle of larger mass. Basic physics tell us that the impact forces can be enormous, and if the car you were riding in did not absorb those forces, then they were transmitted into your body.  Energy is never lost, it has to go somewhere.

Just because your "tests" do not show anything, does not mean that you are not injured, but rather your doctor probably does not know how to correctly find, document or classify your injury.  The fact that you have a prior diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and arthritis increases you risk of initial injury as well as chronicity of symptoms.  This is well documented in the scientific literature.

I am not trying to pick on your doctor here...unfortunately, this is common practice as most physicians do not understand the mechanism of injury, Most have absolutely no training in the transfer of kinetic energy which results in inertial injuries to the soft tissues of the spine, and most perform a poor musculoskeletal examination in the first place.  Moreover, soft tissue injuries do not improve with pain meds, you need active rehabilitation to stress the area so that proper scar tissue formation can result.  I had to take hundreds of hours of post doctoral training to learn this information as it is poorly presented in medical and chiropractic school.

You need to get a better doctor on this...one who has the training and education to treat you effectively.  I would recommend that you check out the Spine Research Institute of San Diego for more information.  www.srisd.com  There is also a physician listing so that you can find doctors in your state who have advanced training in this field.  Additionally, please e-mail me directly through my website and I will get you more information on possible treatment protocols, detailed and correct information on the mechanism of injury, and possible sources of pain and dysfunction...the information is just too dense to send through this forum.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net