Car accidents have the potential to cause a number of painful, debilitating back injuries. People often overlook some of these injuries because they do not cause immediate symptoms. A commonly overlooked back injury is a bone spur from a car accident.
What are bone spurs?
Bone spurs, medically known as osteophytes, are excess bone that forms in areas where bones meet. This includes joints, and between vertebrae of the spine. When bone spurs form on your spine, they may impede the proper functioning of the spinal cord. This occurs because they can cause the spinal canal to narrow and compress the spinal cord and nerve roots.
How can an auto accident cause a bone spur?
Bone spurs form in response to damage. When a crash or other event — or even the ongoing pressures of daily life — places pressure on the body’s normal bone structure and the soft tissues cushioning the ends of bones, the body may respond by growing excess bone in the damaged area. Since car accidents often put incredible force on the spine, they are a common cause of spinal bone spurs.
What symptoms do bone spurs cause?
In the majority of cases, bone spurs on the spine cause no harm and most people are unaware they even have them. However, in some instances, they cause serious, debilitating symptoms. If the bone spurs press on the spinal cord or a spinal nerve root, a car accident victim may be in severe pain and unable to work or enjoy usual recreational activities.
Common symptoms of problematic spinal bone spurs include:
- Neck or lower back pain
- Pain that radiates into the limbs
- Greatly limited range of motion
- Muscle spasms or cramps
- Weakness in the arms or legs
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Loss of coordination
If you experience any of these symptoms after a car accident, it is important to see a doctor right away. If your doctor is unable to feel the bone spur, he may order x-rays to give a positive diagnosis.
What treatment might a bone spur require?
Depending on the severity of your injury, your doctor may recommend nonsurgical treatment, such as physical therapy and medications, or surgery, such as a laminectomy, to remove the spur.
No matter the required treatment, recovering from spinal bone spurs is not a quick endeavor. Because weeks or months of treatment are necessary in even the most basic of cases, medical bills can quickly stack up.
These medical bills can be devastating, especially when you consider that many victims have difficulty working during treatment and recovery. These lost wages make it difficult to keep up with other bills, and the emotional stress only adds to the physical pain and suffering.
How can Bressman Law help me pay for my injuries?
There is no doubt that you deserve compensation from the at-fault driver for any injuries you sustained during an Ohio car accident. However, because symptoms are not always present directly after the accident, it can be difficult to prove a car accident caused your spinal bone spurs.
For this reason, it is paramount that you enlist the help of a car accident attorney knowledgeable about bone spurs as well as local injury and insurance laws
Bressman Law has the experience and skill necessary to prove causation and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. This may include money to cover your medical care, physical therapy, surgery, rehabilitation, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other accident-related costs.
Contact us today at 877-538-1116 for a free case evaluation.