Back Disorders and Motor Vehicles

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Car Accident Lawyer. Chronic back pain is one of the most common medical issues seen in both the outpatient clinic setting and the hospital. There are many risk factors related to low back pain including body weight, history of traumatic injuries, and repeated mechanical forces. Recently, a team of medical professionals put together a study looking at how motor vehicles and exposure to vibratory mechanical forces influences back pain in the short and long term.

Back pain is seen universally throughout medicine and there are many different types and sources of the pain that people experience. Regardless of the pain’s location, it deserves to be considered seriously and worked up appropriately. Examples of possible types of back pain include:

Muscular Pain: This is one of the most common sources of back pain. The spine is supported by a group of muscles called the paraspinal muscles. These muscles can spasm, producing dull, aching pain that could be chronic in nature. This pain can be relieved with anti-inflammatory medications.

Bone Pain: People with chronic medical conditions, such as osteoporosis leading to bone fractures, can experience pain that rests directly over the bony prominences of the vertebrae. This pain could be a sign of a vertebral fracture, such as a compression or a transverse fracture. This acute pain could require surgical correction to fix.

Nerve Pain: Another type of pain could be due to nerve injury. This pain is often described as a shooting or shock-like sensation that could travel down one or more of the patient’s limbs. This could come from the compression of nerves from a traumatic injury as they leave the spinal cord and could also require surgery to fix.

It is important for patients to understand the risk factors of back pain so that they can take measures to prevent it if possible.

Chronic back problems can develop from the vibratory forces in motor vehicles. A team of professionals has put together a research project exploring how vibratory forces impact the development of long-term back pain. They looked at different types of vehicles on different types of roads and explored how the people who ride in these vehicles regularly develop back pain. What they found is that several different factors play a role. These include:

The Quality of the Roads: Everyone knows that different types of roads have different levels of quality. Roads that are rougher will shake the vehicle more. These forces are transmitted up through the road into the suspension of the vehicle and into the seats themselves. As they shake, the back has to respond by stiffening up to keep the driver level and the eyes focused on the road. This leads to long-term back pain.

The Suspension System of the Vehicle: Another quality measure is the suspension system of the vehicle itself. Cars come in different shapes and sizes and those that have high-quality suspension systems will absorb the shock from the road significantly more than others. This removes some of the forces that people would otherwise feel.

Chronic Medical Conditions: Finally, the past medical history of the person in the vehicle will impact the rate of development of back pain. Those who already have conditions that predispose them to injury will run a higher risk of developing back pain in the future. Those who are young, athletic, and otherwise healthy can withstand these forces better.

In addition to chronic pain, acute pain can also develop from serious events such as an auto accident. When someone is involved in an accident, they are exposed to acute forces, such as the crushing change of momentum that comes with a T-bone car accident or the disorientation that accompanies the rolling of a vehicle. Depending on the severity of the accident, this could lead to a serious injury or even a wrongful death. This is why people should always take the proper safety precautions when it comes to driving. If you’ve been injured in a traffic collision, contact an experienced Sacramento car accident lawyer for assistance.

When someone has developed chronic medical pain, there are numerous sources of stress that could leave someone wondering what to do. Examples of issues that people might have include:

Financial: The financial stress of chronic back pain can be tremendous. If the pain lasts for their entire life, it is possible that they could exceed the lifetime maximum of their health insurance. How is someone going to cover these costs if the insurance company refuses to do so?

Career: Some people could lose their career due to back pain, particularly if they are in a field that requires manual labor. What is someone going to do for work if they unable to perform their job?

Legal: Someone who has been injured due to the actions of another individual or entity could have to take legal action because of their injuries. An experienced legal provider can make this process as smooth as possible.

Back pain is a serious issue that deserves the assistance of a professional. Reach out to an experienced Sacramento personal injury lawyer for more information.

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Car Accident Lawyer. Individuals who have developed injuries as a result of a car accident may contact me for free, friendly advice at 916.921.6400.

I possess a membership with the California chapter of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. We represent a group of legal advocates who have been ranked with many of the country’s top personal injury lawyers. The legal members in this group have reached settlements and earned verdicts valued north of $1 Million dollars.

I would like my visitors to take a few seconds to read through my verdicts and settlements here.

Past clients have taken the time to author reviews that are available on Avvo, Yelp, and Google.

Image Attribution: The Creative Commons Attribution International License, version 4.0, has given permission to share this image, found on Wikimedia Commons.

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