My new ride....

[ree]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Alec W:
Chiropractors and great if you find a good one CP.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

CP, you probably know all this being in the medical field, but I'll voice my opinion for everyones benefit.

If you've got anything more than sore, pulled muscles, such as pain, tingling, or numbness in limbs or digits, then you're best off seeing a neurosurgeon that does back stuff. Some specialize in vascular and other non-back/neck-disk issues. But most do work with injuries to the spinal column and specifically disk herniations in this type of accident.

They're do the appropriate type of MRIs and can see specifically what kind of damage there is to the the spinal canal and, if they're any good, can assess whether you can get by with steriodal packs to manage inflamation, traction to aid in repositioning of disks, and even surgery to trim disks that are pooching into the spinal canal, or removal and fusing if the damage is too great.

Of course, if the injury is minor, a good chiropracter who really understands the nervous system can treat you with physical therapy to help get a disk reseated. And there are good family practice docs that can do this too. But I think you're better off going to a neurosurgeon. They, like many other surgical specialists, are usually very proficient at reading the radiology films themselves, whereas a general practitioner is going to be relying on inferior [not bad, but not great] reports from radiology services that are often off-shore subcontracted.

That being said, these docs see TONS of disability related cases. So if you do go to see one for an accident related injury, try not to be whiny about it. They'll treat you, but they get really sick of dealing with the lazy whiny blame-other victims that plague our society.

DISCLAIMER: I've got a neurosurgeon in the family. I'm not trying to drum up business. I'm just trying to point out the added services they may provide over other types of health care providers. And having had some disk issues in my neck, having access to the knowledge and expertise of a neurosurgeon versus the info provided by general practitioners has paid off greatly for me.