Back Injury Attorneys

Causes of Back Injury

Understanding the cause and complexity of back injuries is exceedingly difficult. The variety of damaging events, particular physical risk factors, and frequency of opportunities for injury for a given individual create a unique and complicated basis for the diagnosis of each case. Additionally, the prevalence of late-onset symptoms adds to the difficulty in assessing the physiological, environmental, and circumstantial factors that were present at the time of the injury, and thus the root cause.

The most common causes of lower back pain include pulled or torn muscles or ligaments. These types of injuries can occur from the normal course of life activities, but often a serious accident event occurs resulting in significant pain and damage. A few of the major contributing factors to back pain and back injury are listed and described below.

Injury Accidents Leading to Back Injuries

• Slip and fall accident:  Such as slick flooring, icy surfaces, deteriorating stairs, broken walkways, poor lighting, etc.
• Workplace accident:  Including falls from heights, crush injuries beneath or between objects, fire & explosions, etc.
• Automobile accident:  Including cars, trucks, and 18 wheelers, motorcycles, scooters, etc.

Risk Factors for Back Injuries

• Age:  30-50 is the range when back pain often first occurs, risk increases with aging.
• Genetics:  Family history of injury or disease to the spine and related systems.
• Body Composition:  Changes to weight, especially rapid changes.
• Fitness Level:  Loss of muscle mass through illness or lifestyle restrictions.
• Occupational:  Heavy lifting, dangerous workplaces like construction sites.
• Backpack:  Heavy loads to carry, especially for smaller, less developed bodies of children.

Back Injury Types

Back pain is extremely common, with more than 25% of adults reporting this injury during the last 3 months. This frequency also manifests equally among the genders. With this prevalence and the wide variety of causes, there is naturally an array of back pain injury types. Most fall into two main categories and one subcategory:

• Acute:  Short-term, lasting a few days to weeks. Typically, this type is related to mechanical injuries, meaning it is caused by issues or disruptions in the way that the musculoskeletal and nervous systems in the back work together.
• Subacute:  Specifically defined as pain lasting 4-12 weeks.
• Chronic:  Longer term, specifically lasting 12 weeks or longer. It is also technically considered more persistent as it may continue past the treatment of the pain’s source or cause. Around a quarter of those who suffer acute back pain report development into chronic back pain at the one-year mark.

The specific injuries to the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems which fall into the above categories have been identified and studied extensively by the medical community, though there is much farther to go before we have comprehensive and definitive understandings of these systems and the related pain. Some of the most studied vertebrae are L1-L5, which make up the lumbar region and are responsible for much of the resulting pain sensation in common low back accidents.

Low back pain can be caused by many other conditions and diseases, but the injuries most related to personal injury claims are those which are mechanical in nature (affecting the spine and its components, nerves, and muscle). These are the types of injuries that often result from the causes and risks of the previous section (motor vehicle accident, workplace injury, etc.), and some particular examples include:

• Sprains:  Very common for acute back pain, caused by tearing or overstretching ligaments, usually through overexertion via twisting or heavy lifting
• Strains:  Also very common for acute back pain, with similar actions as the root cause, and are the result of tearing in the muscle or tendon
• Herniated or Ruptured Disc:  Related to compression and damage of the cartilaginous disks between the vertebrae, including displacement, bulging, or rupture. Can result from overuse fatigue or impact injury.
• Radiculopathy:  Inflammation, compression, or injury to the nerve root, sometimes from a herniated or ruptured disk. The resulting pressure causes tingling, numbness, or pain out into the areas of the body related to that nerve.
• Sciatica:  A type of radiculopathy specific to the compression of the sciatic nerve, causing burning or shock-like pain in the low back, to one glute, and down one leg. Complications can be severe for the leg musculature.
• Spondylolisthesis:  Occurs where a vertebra of the lower spine slips out of alignment, pinching nerves, causing pain and numbness.
• Spinal Stenosis:  Occurs where the spinal column narrows, putting pressure on the nerves and spinal cord, resulting in numbness or pain, and often more complicated sensory issues over time
• Traumatic Injury:  A loose category of damaged tendons, ligaments, and/or muscle, often from the type of events named above, and resulting in pain, weakness, numbness, and other side effects.
• Cauda Equina Syndrome:  A rare, but very serious complication of a ruptured disk, where the disk material is moved into the spinal canal, compressing nerve roots that control bladder and bowel function. Extremely serious neurological damage can result if this condition is not treated.
• Paralysis:  A breakdown in the functioning of the spinal cord or nerves exiting the spinal cord due to injury or disease. Damage to the spinal cord can block signals from the brain rendering a person unable to move body parts affected by the injured area of the spinal cord.

If you injured your back due someone else’s negligence, call our back injury attorneys today for a FREE CASE REVIEW.

Diagnosis & Treatment of Back Injury

Despite the lingering mysteries of the nervous system and spine, diagnoses of back injuries can usually be accomplished by utilizing the resources of medical history, physical examination, and available technology. Some of the more frequent types of tech used in these medical investigations include X-Rays, computerized tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs). Supplemental technologies to these types of scans include myelograms and discography, which involve ink injections into the spinal canal or specific disks to more clearly articulate the extent of the damage on the resulting imagery.

Likewise, bone scans are tests where a controlled amount of radioactive material is injected into the bloodstream, and the body is scanned for abnormal areas of blood-flow and irregular pooling delineated by the injection material. For issues of the muscles, electrodiagnostic, including electromyography (EMG), evoked potential (EP) studies, and nerve conduction studies (NCS), can be used to stimulate muscles and nerves.

Testing for various responses with these procedures can help doctors specify the origin and severity of the injury at hand. Ultrasound imaging also can show damage to muscle using sound wave mapping inside the body to create visualizations. Blood tests are also used on occasion, largely to rule out types of infection, inflammation, or other sources of pain.

Fortunately, there are a number of therapies and treatments to cure, or at least significantly ease acute and chronic back pain. Because the spine and its related systems are so intertwined with other structures of the body, mobility improvements and decreased pain in the back often lead to other positive side effects and life improvements.

• Self / Home Care: Ice packs, heat packs, rest, recline, over the counter (OTC) pain relievers
• Therapy: Physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, behavioral therapy
• Medication: Analgesics including NSAIDs and prescribed narcotics, muscle relaxants, injections
• Surgery: Typically necessary for very severe cases where other treatments have not succeeded, relating to structural issues, i.e. spinal stenosis or slipped discs

Less optimistically, of those who consult their doctor about back pain, there will be about 60% that still report pain a year later. Despite the frequency of recurrence and chronic development, there is still much to gain by following the advice of your doctor and taking healthy, thoughtful measures in your back treatment. These injuries can be reversible and manageable, but only through consistent care. For advice on connecting with back injury medical experts following a serious accident, Thompson Law is here to help.

If you injured your back due someone else’s negligence, call our back injury attorneys today for a FREE CASE REVIEW.

Financial Impacts of Back Injuries

Financial costs of back injury are extremely significant and regularly feature on the World Health Organization’s Priority Diseases List. Medical expenses missed work, insurance costs, and more add up to astounding dollar figures on local and global scales. US costs associated with low back pain and associated missed workdays are estimated to be $100 – $200 billion annually. Additionally, the prevalence of back pain across populations makes it the leading cause of work absence and general activity limitation around the world.

Various reporting methods and compromised accuracy of these reports from different countries makes it impossible to estimate a global annual cost of low back pain. But, based on the large numbers of people affected (lifetime prevalence rates at 60-70% in industrialized countries) and other regional cost statistics, it is safe to assume that the amounts are vast.

• Studies show the average loss of US workdays due to chronic low back pain to be up to 12 days per patient.
• 30% of Americans will suffer a significant low back pain episode each year.
• Back pain is the second leading reason for primary care visits, often leading to prescriptions and/or additional diagnostics.
• Of individuals who consult a doctor about low back pain, 60% will still report pain a year later.
• Average chiropractic visit costs average at $65 but can vary from $30-$200, and the average recommended frequency of visits is once per week. To treat an ongoing condition then, you may be spending over $3300 annually to manage your pain.
• In an article from a Texas Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon, the costs of back surgeries were illuminated – and jaw-dropping:
  • Laminectomy for spinal stenosis: $50,000 – $90,000
  • Herniated Disc Procedures: $20,000 – $50,000
  • Spinal Fusion for slipped vertebrae or spinal instability: $80,000 – $150,000+
  • These costs are for surgery alone, not including recovery time with lost wages, plus recovery equipment and medications, physical therapy, and more.

If you or a loved one suffered a back injury in an accident due to the negligence of another party, call our back injury attorneys today for a FREE CONSULTATION.

Why You Need a Back Injury Lawyer

Call Our Back Injury Attorneys for a FREE CASE REVIEW

Have you suffered a back injury from a motor vehicle accident, workplace accident, slip and fall accident, or another type of accident? Thompson Law’s back injury attorneys truly understand the painful, frustrating, and expensive implications that these injuries can have on your body and your life. Our compassionate back injury attorneys are standing by 24/7 to offer you a free consultation regarding your accident and resulting injuries.

When you reach out to the back injury attorneys at Thompson Law firm following your back injury accident, your skilled attorney and team will guide you every step of the way through your claim and case process. They will be able to examine and investigate every detail of the events surrounding your injury. Armed with this information, your dedicated team will go to battle for your best possible settlement and your highest rightful compensation. Our results speak for themselves, and our passion to seek justice for our clients is limitless.

Suffering a traumatic back injury like this after a serious accident can make recovery and healing a full-time job. Take care, focus on your health, and leave the hard work of fighting the insurance companies and at-fault parties to your trusted back injury lawyers at Thompson Law.