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Diagnostic Pain Mapping for Post-Accident Pain

If you are experiencing chronic pain after a car accident, diagnostic pain mapping can be beneficial to find the source of the pain. At our pain management clinic at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel, our doctors use several types of diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections to find and ultimately heal the pain.

Keep reading to learn more about diagnostic pain mapping for post-accident pain!

What is Diagnostic Pain Mapping?

Diagnostic pain mapping is a technology that allows our doctors to record your responses to the physical stimulation of your muscles and detect any areas of unusual pain sensitivity. This information helps us diagnose the source of your pain and develop an appropriate approach to treat post-accident pain.

This tool opens the door to a treatment plan that will bring you real-world relief, especially if there is no evident source of pain indicated through X-rays, MRIs, or other standardized tests.

Pain Mapping Basics

Pain is your body’s initial response to physical damage. In some circumstances, you experience pain when serious damage has already been done. In other circumstances, the sensation occurs after relatively minor damage and can help you avoid further damage.

Chronic or persistent pain can easily develop in the neck or lower back after an accident. Pain in these areas has a wide array of possible origins, and diagnostic pain mapping helps uncover the underlying cause.

Pain mapping gives your doctor subjective information by measuring your responses to a standard level of pressure applied to an isolated portion of a muscle, a whole muscle, or a group of muscles. These pressure levels are recorded and form a map of your pain responses.

Pain Signals and Nerves

Pain signals are generated from the nerve roots that travel neural pathways throughout the body. When these nerve roots are compressed, they generate pain signals that can be felt in different areas.

For example, patients with lumbar disc problems from a car accident might report pain that radiates into one or both of their legs. This is because the nerve roots that travel to the legs exit the spine in the lumbar chain. Back pain is very complex and difficult to treat, which is where diagnostic pain mapping can be greatly beneficial.

What is a Nerve Block?

A nerve block is an injection of medication that numbs specifically targeted sets of nerves. Diagnostic nerve blocks can be quite helpful in diagnosing the source of pain after a car accident.

Various types of nerve blocks may be used during your pain mapping procedure including:

• Sympathetic nerve blocks: This nerve block reveals if you have damage to the network of nerves that travel the length of your spine.
• Facet joint nerve blocks: This nerve block determines if a facet joint is causing your pain.
• Stellate ganglion nerve blocks: This type of nerve block reveals damage to a network of nerves providing sensations to the head, neck, chest, and arms.

Why Choose Impact Medical Wesley Chapel?

At Impact Medical, we are happy to have double-certified Dr. Robert Gruber, DO, an interventional pain management specialist, on our team. He provides state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic injections to promote healing and bring our patients higher levels of relief and a better quality of life.

He is an expert at using the latest evidence-based diagnostic pain mapping techniques to identify the primary cause of a patient’s pain, and which treatment, such as physical therapy or chiropractic care would best treat their pain and improve function following a car accident. 

Post-Accident Pain Management

At Impact Medical Wesley Chapel, we have many specialists under one roof on our team to help manage your pain. Whether your treatment plan includes chiropractic care, physical therapy, manual, or interventional pain management techniques, you can get treated right here at our clinic.

Contact our multidisciplinary clinic at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel for a consultation today; (813) 953-1002!

Ice vs. Heat Chiropractic Therapy – Which Is Right for You?

If you have been injured during a workout, accident, or by simply moving the wrong way, you might find yourself reaching for a heating pack or ice pack, or maybe both. But which one is best for your injury?

There is a lot of confusion about when to use heat or cold to treat injuries, and it can even get more complicated when you include chiropractic treatment in the mix.

Our team at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel is here to put an end to the confusion. Here is a breakdown of when to use heat and when to use ice in chiropractic therapy!

Ice Ice Baby

Ice therapy, also called cold therapy, is one of the most common types of therapy that we recommend immediately following an injury that involves swelling or residual pain.

Chiropractic cold therapy can come in many forms from using ice packs to using lasers to reduce pain. It is a great way to relieve pain without the need for medication. The cold restricts blood flow to the sore area, providing a bit of numbing action that decreases pain and swelling.

Chiropractors often use cold therapy as part of a more comprehensive treatment plan. For example, if you are struggling with chronic pain, you may be able to use cold therapy in conjunction with chiropractic adjustments.

The sooner you use cold therapy after an injury, the better. We recommend applying an ice pack to an injured area for about 15 minutes, then taking it off for 30 minutes. Remember to make sure to use something to protect your skin from the cold, such as a towel.

Cold therapy isn’t always comfortable, but it will help to reduce swelling and pain so you can heal faster.

Heat It Up

Heat therapy is used to relieve pain and muscle stiffness and is commonly used to treat long-lasting or chronic pain. There are many forms of heat therapy that chiropractors use including heating pads and moist or dry heat packs. Your chiropractor may use heat therapy in conjunction with other treatments like exercise, manual therapy, and cold therapy.

Heat therapy is effective because it causes blood vessels in the treated areas to dilate or open wider. As a result, blood flow to that area is increased, allowing sore muscles to relax, and become more flexible. This increased blood flow also promotes healing.

Safely Applying Cold and Heat Therapy

There are many ways to apply ice and heat therapy. However, we recommend applying them for up to 15-20 minutes on and off. Here are some typical cold and heat treatments and how we recommend using them:

• Ice packs: Use ice for the first 72 hours until swelling, tenderness, or inflammation is gone.
• Ice manual: Use an ice cube to manual a tender area until it is numb. This is best for awkward areas like elbows or heels.
• Moist heat: Take a warm shower, bath, hot tub, or whirlpool
• Heating Pads: Do not use heating pads on the highest setting and remove them when it becomes uncomfortably warm.

If you have poor circulation or cardiovascular disease, consult with your doctor before using any form of cold therapy. You will also want to be aware of how long you are icing your injury, because icing an area too long can cause tissue, skin, and nerve damage.

Wesley Chapel Chiropractic Treatment

If you are dealing with chronic pain or an acute injury, come visit our team of chiropractors at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel. We will create a comprehensive treatment plan for you that may include heat or ice therapy to provide relief from pain, swelling, and inflammation.

Find relief from pain and inflammation at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel and schedule a chiropractic consultation today; (813) 953-1002!

5 Reasons to Visit a Pain Management Doctor After an Accident

Post-accident pain can be the worst kind of pain. Even if it takes a few days for the damages to start becoming apparent, it will likely always happen and it will always wear you down. Learn about how seeing a professional pain management doctor like the ones at Impact Medical Brandon can help you after a car crash.

1. Helps with Other Treatment Plans

Physical therapy and chiropractic care are essential in restoring your body back to its original state, but excessive pain can make it difficult to properly perform the necessary exercises or for your body to relax enough for the treatment to actually be effective and yield results. Pain management will help relax your body so you can achieve the most optimal recovery.

2. Offers Flexible and Targeted Relief

Not all car accident injuries come the same, and that’s why pain management involves a variety of different methods. Many techniques involve the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar area since the spine is the area of the body that’s most prone to accidents. Such pain management procedures include:

• Discography
• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet injections
• Radio-frequency ablations
• Diagnostics

Other techniques that your pain management doctors may use involve percutaneous discectomy, selective nerve root blocks, sacroiliac injections and ablations, diagnostic pain mapping, and conscious sedation. Pain is such a debilitating symptom with too many variables which is why there are so many solutions designed to assist you.

3. Qualifies Under Insurance Requirements

Under Florida state law, you must visit a qualified personal injury patient (PIP) doctor within 14 days of your accident in order to receive insurance coverage. Undergoing chiropractic care or physical therapy with the assistance of a pain management doctor counts towards this requirement so you can be treated for your injury while receiving financial assistance.

4. Acts as An Effective Last Resort Option

Many car crash victims will search for every possible solution for their pain from over-the-counter medications or at-home stretches and exercises. When all else fails, seeking out a pain management doctor has been proven to be a valid and helpful last-ditch effort for many people. So, if you’ve tried everything to no avail, it may be time to schedule an appointment with your local specialist.

5. Prevents Chronic Pain and Disabilities

The sooner you treat your pain, the better the chance you have of preventing chronic pain from developing. Chronic pain throughout the rest of your lifespan can be debilitating to the point of affecting your career and day-to-day functionality. Even if you don’t feel the symptoms immediately, seeking pain management therapy right after your accident could save you a great deal of trouble later on in life.

Visit the Best Pain Management Doctor in Brandon!

If you have just endured a car accident, call Impact Medical Brandon today at (813) 522-8885 to be treated by the best pain management doctors in the area! We’ll set you up with a personal treatment plan for your exact symptoms for fast and optimal recovery so you can stop chronic pain in its tracks.

How Long Does Nerve Damage Last After a Car Accident?

Injured in a car accident? You likely know that car wrecks cause broken bones, spinal injuries, bruises, cuts, and more, but many people often don’t consider the nerve damage and pain that can occur following a collision. Here are some of the common injuries to look for, as well as when you can expect to feel relief from nerve damage after a car accident.

Common Car Accident Injuries That Can Cause Nerve Damage

Whether you were involved in a severe T-bone crash at high speed or a minor fender bender, there’s always a risk of nerve pain if you’ve suffered a car accident injury. Some of the most common car accident injuries that can result in nerve pain include:

• Whiplash: One of the most common injuries you can sustain from a car wreck, whiplash is caused by neck trauma from your head jolting forward then back due to impact. While muscles and soft tissue are most often affected by whiplash injuries, it can also damage your nerves.

• Spinal Impacts: If your back or spine is injured in a car accident, it can lead to pinched or compressed nerves that cause pain, tingling, or numbness. This form of injury is often called sciatica.

• Secondary Injuries: Broken bones and internal injuries can damage nerves throughout the body following a car accident. Nerves may be stretched or squeezed from the impact, or they may even sever in an open wound.

Common Types of Nerve Damage, and When You’ll Feel Relief

Almost everyone has experienced nerve pain in their lifetime. It’s easy to pinch a nerve while playing sports or even by sleeping wrong. Following a car accident, though, your nerve pain may be more severe. There are three basic types of nerve damage, ranging in severity from least severe to most severe:

• Neurapraxia: This is the mildest form of nerve damage, caused by stretched or compressed nerves. It typically resolves in a few days to a few months, and it can be treated with rest, ice, manual, and other simple remedies.

• Axonotmesis: This more significant form of nerve damage consists of damage to the axons and their myelin sheath. Physical therapy is the typical treatment, and you can expect a full recovery within six months to one year.

• Neurotmesis: The most severe form of nerve damage, neurotmesis occurs when a nerve is fully severed, usually from violent, open injuries. Immediate surgical intervention can improve outcomes, but complete recovery from this type of nerve damage is often unlikely.

Treatment for Nerve Pain at Impact Medical Group of Lutz

If you’ve been injured in a car accident and are feeling the lingering effects of nerve damage, the best thing you can do is to be evaluated and treated as quickly as possible. Not only does this lessen the risk of permanent damage, but it also helps you get out of pain and back to your daily life faster. The team at Impact Medical Group of Lutz is here to help! Call us today at (813) 536-0373 to schedule your free consultation and get on the road to recovery.