A spinal disc has a tough outer ring and a soft center. A collision can load the spine fast enough and at enough of an angle to tear the outer ring, and the soft center then presses outward against a nerve root. The pain that follows is usually felt in the limb the nerve supplies rather than in the back or neck itself, which is why people describe it as a leg problem or an arm problem.
You can be seen without a referral, usually within the same week, and the first visit is an examination that establishes what the nerve is doing before anything is decided about imaging.
The pattern is more telling than the intensity. What points toward a disc rather than a muscle:
Loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness in the groin or inner thighs, is an emergency department visit rather than an appointment.
An MRI is not the first move for most people, because the examination usually tells the physician which nerve root is involved and conservative care often settles the symptoms without changing the plan. Imaging becomes the right step when there is weakness rather than only pain, when symptoms are not improving on a reasonable course of care, or when an interventional procedure is being considered and the target has to be confirmed.
Where imaging shows a disc change, the physician records what the examination found and how it relates to what is on the scan. Disc changes are common in people who have never had a crash, so the finding on its own is not the whole picture, and the record says so.
A disc injury is treated on what the examination and the imaging agree about, so the order matters. Where the symptoms point to a disc, the Pain Management physicians decide whether a scan would change the plan before treatment escalates; often it would not, and conservative care carries on either way.
Physical Therapy does most of the early work, directed at the positions and movements that ease the symptoms in the limb rather than at the site of the pain. Chiropractic care is used where the joints above and below the affected level have stiffened, and Acupuncture is available where it helps with pain and muscle tone.
If the symptoms persist, or if the leg or arm is losing strength, the physicians review whether an interventional procedure, such as an epidural steroid injection, is the right next step. Interventional procedures are performed in office at Northglenn, InterQuest, Mesa and Westgate. Spine injections are also performed at Lowry on specific days.
The examination, the imaging and the treatment notes stay on one chart, so a decision made at one clinic does not have to be re-argued at another. Where the disc turns out not to be the source and the pain is muscular, back pain after a car accident covers what that looks like.
A scan is billed the same way the rest of the care is: to the med-pay portion of an auto policy, to a lien where an attorney is involved, or to your health insurance. Which one applies is agreed at the first visit rather than after the imaging is done.
Most major commercial plans are accepted in both states. The routes are explained in full on the car accident care page.
Every clinic below has Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Acupuncture and Pain Management on one chart, so care can move between them without a new referral.
Downtown out through the north, west, south and east suburbs.
Academy, InterQuest and Tenderfoot cover the north, central and south of the city.
Harmony in Fort Collins and our Greeley clinic serve Larimer and Weld counties.
Across the Valley, from the West Valley through Phoenix to the East Valley.
A collision can load the spine quickly enough and at enough of an angle to tear the outer ring of a disc. Whether a particular disc change is new is a clinical question the physician addresses in the record, using the examination alongside any imaging.
Often within the first few days, and sometimes later as inflammation builds around the nerve root. Nerve symptoms that are getting worse should be examined promptly.
No. You can book directly, and appointments are usually available within the same week.
Not usually at the start. Imaging becomes the right step when there is weakness rather than only pain, when symptoms are not improving on a reasonable course of care, or when a procedure is being considered.
No. Most cases are managed without it. Mountain View Pain Center treats conservatively first and escalates to an interventional procedure when the nerve pain persists.
Chiropractic care and Physical Therapy aimed at unloading the nerve, with Acupuncture available, and a Pain Management physician reviewing the case throughout.
Accident care can be billed to the med-pay portion of an auto policy, to a lien where an attorney is involved, or to your health insurance. The route is set up at the first visit.
At any Mountain View Pain Center clinic in Colorado or Arizona. Interventional procedures, where they are needed, are performed in office at Northglenn, InterQuest, Mesa and Westgate. Spine injections are also performed at Lowry on specific days.
No referral is needed to be evaluated, appointments are usually available within the same week, and accident care can be billed to med-pay or to a lien.
