Car Accident Report
Confidential Car Accident Victim Report
Here’s The FREE REPORT You Need to Read!… Please read carefully, as this topic pertains to your future health and well being.
“Discover What Most Doctors Don’t Know About Hidden Car Accident Injuries And How To Protect Your Rights Before It’s Too Late!”
In This Insider’s Report We Will Reveal:
- The Mismanagement Of Hidden Car Accident Injuries And How It Causes Years Of Pain Long After Your Case Closes.
- How Even Minor Injuries Should Get Evaluated.
- Why Prescribed Pain Relief Medication May Make Your Condition Worse!
- The Importance Of Documenting Your Injuries Immediately So That You Get The Settlement You May Deserve!
- How To Get The Correct Treatment At No Cost To You.
WARNING: Hidden injuries are sneaky, potentially debilitating, and will strike millions of Americans this year… “due to ignorance, many victims will suffer the rest of their lives because of bad advice and inappropriate care from even well meaning doctors! These hidden injuries can potentially turn into intractable pain one to two years from now. Fortunately an amazing new treatment method is helping accident victims avoid this fate. I know what you’ve been going through so please read this report carefully.” (Barb D. Accident Victim)
Dear Friend,
My name is Dr. Wade Burbank and I’ve been treating accident victims for 20 years. So sit back and let me give you the strait talk about what’s happening with thousands of accident victims.
Every year in the U.S. alone there are over 3 million injuries caused from car accidents. Even after receiving treatment, studies are showing that most of these victims continue to suffer long term pain after the accident. And, as many as 12% of these victims end up disabled with very little compensation.
Something is not right with the system!
In this day and age it’s hard to understand why so many car accident injuries are not getting better. Many researchers are now looking into what makes these injuries so different and what they’ve found may shock you.
In the Medical Journal of Clinical Epidemiology a study was published that followed a group of 232 car accident victims that suffered from neck and back injuries. These victims received what was thought to be the best of treatment-- However in a seven year follow up, the study revealed that all of these patients continued to suffer from some aspect of their injuries. Their complaints ranged from ongoing pain in their neck, upper back, and low back. They suffered from continuing ill health, fatigue and sleep disturbances.
The article basically concluded that if you’ve been injured in a car accident there is substantial risk of continuing health complaints that may last for many years to come. The author also insightfully questioned the effectiveness of modern medicine in treating these injuries and the desperate need to improve their clinical management.
In the United States it seems that more and more people are not receiving the needed treatment for their injuries. So many of these individuals end up settling their cases far before the full extent of their injuries are discovered, leaving many to foot the medical bills themselves.
Research shows that some of the fault remains with the patients themselves because they failed to seek the appropriate treatment for even minor injuries. But now experts are finding fault with many in the medical field that may not have the skills to give appropriate advice or care to these types of injuries.
When it comes to whiplash and other accident related injuries bad advice and ineffective management seems to be the rule. Even well meaning doctors can unknowingly give recommendations that cause these injured patients great harm.
The simple truth of the matter is that very few health care practitioners know how to efficiently diagnose and treat the hidden injuries sustained from a car accident.
According to two separate studies featured in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery most medical doctors just don’t have sufficient training with musculo-skeletal injuries (Soft tissue injuries). The study examined the competency levels of nearly 419 medical graduates, residents and staff physicians. It revealed that approximately 80% of them “failed to demonstrate basic competency” in their knowledge of musculo-skeletal medicine. It’s no wonder why so many car accident injuries fail to get the appropriate care. Car accident victims that seek help from your average community clinic or family practitioner may not be getting all they need.
In General, most doctors feel comfortable treating general illness and other related conditions but when it comes to pain from a car accident, far too many physicians quickly gloss over the patients symptoms and mask them with drugs, therefore missing subtle signs that may indicate a more serious problem.
An article in Soft Tissue Review suggested that even if you were involved in a minor fender bender, studies show you could still suffer from a severe injury that isn't easily noticeable and most often missed.(Soft Tissue Review, Lack of Relationship Between Vehicle Damage and Occupant Injury. SAE 970494.)
Many victims may feel very little pain at first. It may even start as a little bit of discomfort but as the years go by the pain starts to grow and grow.(for more details keep reading)
Where the Problem Begins
The problem often starts in the hospital emergency room after the accident. In this age more and more people are using the emergency room as a primary care Clinic. They go there for headaches, fever, sprains, strains, general illness, over doses and of course trauma.
The increased use has caused over crowding and an increased workload on the doctors themselves. Usually after a car accident and a long wait in the E.R., the doctors may do some kind of imaging study like an x-ray or MRI. Unless you have a broken bone, punctured lung, internal bleeding or some other life threatening injury, the E.R. doctors are going to quickly send you on your way, because they have another 10 patients waiting. You’ll probably get some medication and a recommendation to follow up with your primary doctor, who may or may not understand the nature of these injuries.
Dr. Wade Burbank, an expert with over 20 years treating auto accident injuries said in an interview, “It needs to be understood that the emergency room technicians are trained to detect life threatening conditions and to provide life saving care. If your injuries don’t fall into this category you will be sent home with some medication and some tid-bits of advice. They are not there to necessarily manage the long term care of your injuries… Unfortunately, many victims take this as ‘I guess I’m not that bad’. Worse yet, the E.R. doctors sometimes unknowingly sabotages the victims health by casually saying ‘oh… the pain will go away in a few weeks’. But what happens when it doesn’t? Unfortunately these doctors have not read the literature on auto related injuries and don’t understand the lasting nature of them… many victims simple go home and wait for the pain to go away… But usually it never does, in fact it can get a whole lot worse because the injured body part start to degenerate.
Many inexperienced doctors are unable to give you the proper diagnosis and often make the wrong one. Any treatment you get based on a wrong diagnosis will do practically nothing. And many victims end up going on a “medical loop of craziness” that involves a revolving door going between drugs and physical therapy with no real resolution to the problem…
Then after four week of this, you’re told, “there is nothing more we can do and you may have to live with this”
This is simple not true, there is a better way!
The Problem with Medication
“…Remember, The Purpose of Medication is to ‘Numb the Pain’, Not to Heal or Correct the Injured Problem.”
Two of the most common injuries mismanaged by general practitioners are neck and back pain following an accident. On a number of occasions I’ve had doctors approach me and say, “I just don’t know what to do with these patients.” Most practitioners just end up treating these patients by masking the symptoms with painkillers. Unfortunately, this approach sets the patient up for a life time of prescription drug addiction and misery.
The prolonged use of medication can actually make your injury worse for three reasons. 1) Many victims will go about their day doing things to aggravate their injury and not even know it, all because they are too numb from the drugs to feel the pain. But once the drugs wear off they’re in more pain. Therefore they take even more drugs and the cycle goes on. Pain is the body’s way of telling you to stop doing something because if you don’t, permanent damage may result. 2) Drugs, especially anti-inflammatory drugs impair your ability to heal because they interfere with your immune system. According to John Kellett, author of “Acute soft tissue injuries-a review of the literature” stated, “Drugs should be used for no longer than 72 hours. Any anti-inflammatory action lasting beyond this period would, theoretically, at least, be detrimental since the repair mechanism is itself an inflammatory process. Simple put, anti-inflammatory drugs delay healing. Last, but not least number 3)…prolonged drug use will cause damage to your liver, your stomach, your kidneys, etc… need I say more.
Prescription medication will only decrease your ability to feel the pain, but I guarantee that the injury is still there, and now that months have gone by with poor treatment and therapy you are running the risk of becoming a statistic. Redundant prescriptions of Vicodin, anti-inflammatories, and muscle relaxers are no substitute for curative treatment. Using drugs as a sole treatment is like covering up the ‘oil warning light’ in your car with black ink. There are other specific therapies that need to be performed.
(On a side note: while on heavy medication you may get a call from the insurance adjuster to settle. Beware, a lot of auto accident victims receive inappropriate care, and then while the underlying damage and pain are hidden or numbed with drugs, they settle their case. This happens all to often.
Also, this can happen...
They tell the claims manager that they are “feeling pretty good” (because of the medication)and once a claim manager thinks you are “OK”, that’s it, you’re done, you will have a very difficult time getting them to approve more treatment. So when your condition starts to go south your manager will say, “Hey! You said on November 7th you were feeling GOOD.”
(Let it be known that claim managers keep notes while talking to you. So be Cautious!)
What Are The Hidden Injuries That Doctors Miss?
Most people understand trauma like broken bones, cuts and bruises but car accidents can cause hidden injuries that are more difficult to recognize. For some, it can take a month or two before the victim realizes that his/her injuries are not getting better. And then they start to realize, “I’m in Trouble.”
The forces involved in a car accident can cause deep injuries that occur deep in the joints and soft tissues of the neck, spine, shoulders, hips, and virtually any joint. But to simplify the discussion of these hidden injuries we will focus on the most common areas, the neck and back.
The rapid shifting motions of the neck and spine during a crash can result in a number of injuries, many of which are near impossible to see on x-ray or MRI and that is why so many of them are missed.
Tearing and bleeding usually results in the deep spinal tissues. These multiple small disruptions or lacerations can occur in joint capsules, discs, ligaments, tendons and muscles right up next to the boney spine. Sometimes the pain comes on immediately and sometime it takes a few days as the muscles and ligaments slowly begin to swell.
The deep neck structures –
bones, muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments
Often immediately after the injury, the muscles around the injured area begin to go into spasm as a defense mechanism to protect you from the pain by arresting any kind of movement. Unfortunately this spasm can last for months and as time goes by the muscles, tendons and ligaments lose their pliability and form contractures (a permanent abnormal tightening or shortening of a body part, such as a muscle, a tendon, or the skin, often resulting in deformity)
The stiffness is slow and progressive and can go unnoticed. Once the spinal joints have lost their motion, they begin to degenerate. And now instead of just a nagging ache, the pain becomes intractable. You will find it difficult to freely move without pain. Sitting or standing for long periods become difficult. Most who find themselves in this position are unable to enjoy life. Continuing, chronic pain often can lead to depression. Some doctors believe that depression causes the pain and prescribe anti-depressants. But, usually it is the other way around. Pain causes the depression.
A closer Look of how it happens…
(See the diagram below for illustrations)
The rapid movement in an accident causes forceful shifting in the vertebral bones, which in turn results in soft tissue tearing in and around the joints. Most often after the shifting, the bones remain in a partial dislocated state. The surrounding muscle tend to go into a protective spasm, often clamping down on the joint keeping the injured joint in a poorly aligned position.
Now, while your bones and joints are partially mis-aligned your body starts to mend the tears which cause the joint to heal in a poor position. According to a study done at the University of California, a fibrous connective tissue known as collagen (scar tissue) was found to aggressively form in and around these injured joints after motion has been lost. This fibrous connective tissue was found to form adhesions between the joint capsule folds, in muscle, in and along tendons and on the cartilage surfaces. This fibrous tissue was discovered to be unlike normal soft tissue. Normal tissue has an elastic quality that allows your joints to move and be flexible. However this fibrous tissue does not possess much elastin, a protein that gives normal tissue its stretchy quality.
It was noted that the longer the joints went untreated the more rigid and full of fibrous scar tissue they became. It was shown that the fibrous changes in the joint caused abnormal wearing and ulcerations in the cartilage. Further neglect caused joint degeneration. This type of improper healing is why so many victims have lasting problems up to 7 years later.
The new fibrous collagen laid down for repair is always arranged in an irregular pattern (see diagram above), which is much different than the orientation of the fibers in normal soft tissue. The fibers in normal soft tissues (whether it be muscles or ligaments) are much more organized. As a general rule they run parallel to each other which make the tissue able to optimize their resistance to tensile forces. Therefore the disorganized fibrous scar tissue is much weaker. It is more sensitive to pain. It tears easier and it is less functional.
Fixing the Problem with the proper therapy
The solution: Fortunately, there are new therapies used to prevent all of this and to some degree reverse the scar tissue already built up.
1) Continuous passive motion (CPM)- to prevent joint stiffness and disrupt adhesions.
Studies have revealed that CPM is a valuable component to the therapeutic program for preventing excess fibrous scar tissue from forming in and along joints. It has been shown to restore joint function without compromising healing of tissues. One study showed a 83% success rate. (Akeson et al)
Soon after injuring your neck or back, it is advised to start on a CPM program. It involves the patient laying face down on a motorized flexion table (Leander flexion traction table 900z). The table slowly bends which gently introduces a mild bit of motion in the spinal joints. One of the most important benefits to CPM is while the motion is being applied it prevents cross linking of the collegen fibers which cause adhesions to adjacent tissues.
It is important to stress the “PASSIVE” in passive motion. For those who don’t know, Passive motion is motion that is done to you, usually by a machine. You just need to relax and let the machine do the work. Active motion is when you contract your own muscles to move the body part. In this therapy, studies have shown that active motion with new injuries is not advised because muscle contraction causes compression of joint surfaces, which may be harmful to the cartilage. In addition, it increases tissue tension and therefore increases pain.
Remember, when it comes to healing a joint, motion is life. If you are not receiving the above therapy you risk the dangers of permanent impairment.
2)Non-surgical Spinal decompression, manual soft tissue manipulation, active and passive stretching to remodel scar tissue in the joint.
Fortunately for most, scar tissue that is forming in the spine or any joint can be helped if you don’t wait too long and you get treatment from a skilled therapist that knows what to do. Scar tissue can undergo remodeling by applying certain external tensile forces in the injured tissues. Various forms of soft tissue manipulation can actually cause remodeling in the scar tissue fibers. This type of therapy improves the scar tissue quality, orientation of the fibers and improves the strength. (see diagram below)
Note Above: Properly healed muscle on the right and Poorly healed muscle on the left
The goal is to make sure the patient heals properly. These types of treatments require patients and diligence from the injured person. The remodeling of the injured tissue can take many months of continuous care to achieve optimal healing. If the patient has received inappropriate treatment the recovery period could even be longer.
Thank you for taking the time to read this report. I hope you enjoyed reading it as I have enjoyed writing it. If you have been in a car accident and you need additional help please call Dr. Wade Burbank at the Accident & Injury Clinic in Vancouver, WA
(360-567-1739).
Accident & Injury Clinic
Our mission is to provide; for our patients, the best auto accident injury treatment and referral options possible.
The Accident & Injury Clinic is a privately owned and operated clinic dedicated to the treatment of auto accident and work injuries. In a time of managed care, when many offices have become nothing more than patient mills, we offer old fashion doctor patient interaction while using modern techniques to encourage timely healing. The doctors themselves provide nearly all the treatment, one on one.
"One of my focus areas is on those patients injured in auto or work related accidents".
With his experience in trauma related injuries, Dr. Burbank is well equipped and experienced to assist those victims who have been injured. He also understands the complexities of the medical - legal issues and remains a valuable resource for medical fact-finding and documentation of injuries to meet mandates of law and provide burdens of proof of injury to satisfy the legal system.
We go the distance for you:
Experience in auto accident injury care is surprisingly rare. Most doctors just do not know how to properly document and manage these unique conditions. If your physician cannot accurately explain your injury to the insurance company or a court then your claim will be compromised. If the proper treatment is not rendered you may never get completely better.
Our clinic uses traditional treatment including spinal manipulation, traction soft tissue therapy in conjunction with ultra modern equipment and time-tested therapy. Our motorized tables can provide gentle traction for herniated disc decompression as well as help reduce painful back spasms. The appropriate amount of soft tissue massage precedes any needed spinal manipulation, thereby making recovery as gentle and painless as possible. The Accident and Injury Clinic also uses a recently FDA approved device that has been used successfully in Europe for over 30 years to treat soft tissue injuries, to relieve pain, arthritic conditions and promote wound healing. A cold laser instrument represents the latest in laser therapy technology. It emits a focused, powerful, wave of light that penetrates into the skin, tissues and surrounding nerves. The laser light promotes progressive changes in blood flow and nerve sensitivity levels, thereby leading to improvement of symptoms.
Why Should You Select Dr. Burbank As Your Physician:
Dr. Burbank has made it his life’s work to properly manage these injuries along with the medical and legal issues that are so important to your health and insurance claim. His fifteen years of experience has exposed him to every aspect of auto injury. Don’t leave your health to chance by going to any doctor to be treated by just medication. The Accident & Injury Clinic provides the quality of injury care you deserve.
“In 1999 a car accident devastate my life. My neck and back pain lingered, got worse and soon became a cycle of pain that controlled my life. I cut back activities and delayed my schooling. Drugs, pain killers and other "quick fixes" were useless. Approximately a year after the accident, I met Dr. Burbank and became his patient. Finally, I began to get the relief I was looking for and thanks to Dr. Burbank, my condition turned around. My activities increased as my pain decreased. I am now returning to work. Very few doctors will spend the time and do the types of therapy that Dr. Burbank did for me. You could just call any clinic, but I know these guys will take care of you like no other. Thank-you Dr. Burbank and others at the Accident and Injury Clinic." Debra Cole (patient)
A word from Doctor Burbank (Accident & Injury Clinic)
If you are still suffering from pain you may be suffering from a hidden injury. While this is still fresh in your mind, call my office at
360-567-1739 and pick a time convenient for you to come in for your accident & injury evaluation. If you are calling after the office closes for the day, leave a message and a number where we can reach you. One of my assistants will call you the next day.
Your accident has been a big enough hassle already, from getting your car fixed, to dealing with your insurance adjuster. That’s why we’re dedicated to working around your schedule so you can go about living your life on your terms.
If you are suffering from a hidden injury, then we recommend you consider getting a lawyer to represent your case. Choosing a good, qualified lawyer is extremely difficult and, if you’d like, we’ll even give you a list of attorneys to choose from.
Whatever you decide to do, remember, you need to document your injuries as soon as possible in order to get the care you may need and the settlement you may deserve. To do that, you need to be checked out by a doctor with the training and experience to diagnose and treat the hidden injuries we've talked about in this report.
If you were not alone in the vehicle, the other passengers with you also have the option to come in for an evaluation. Just give the office a call. We will be happy to schedule an evaluation for them as well just to make sure everyone is really okay.
If children were in your car, it’s vital they are evaluated to ensure their bodies are in good working order and are not subjected to unnecessary pain, suffering, or physical problems later in life. Don’t worry, if we do detect an injury, our care is both safe and effective for children of all ages.
I hope you’ve benefited from discovering the truth about Hidden Car Accident Injuries - the same truth many people out there don’t want you to know. Remember: 1. you have until the date stamped in red to respond to my offer and 2. auto insurance covers all costs, so there is no reason to delay. If you’re planning on seeking legal representation, the sooner you document your injuries, the better your case will turn out. Delaying only makes things worse for both your health and for successful litigation.
Sincerely,
Dr. Wade Burbank, DC
P.S. – Don’t forget, many doctors are not trained to diagnose and treat hidden car accident injuries. So, if you DO suffer from a hidden injury, almost any treatment your doctor is giving you may be ineffective and may even be harmful to you!
P.P.S. – I can’t stress this enough. You need to document your injuries as quickly as possible for two reasons: (1) It will help your legal case if you choose to go that route, and (2) The quicker an injury is diagnosed, the less severe it will be, and the easier it will be to treat. That means you’ll be out of pain faster and back to living your life the way it was before the accident.
Call for your appointment today!
6403 NE 117th Ave #108
Vancouver WA, 98662
(360) 567-1739
Accident and Injury Clinic © 2015
________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Wade Burbank, Chiropractor *
6403 NE 117th Ave #108
Vancouver WA 98662
ph 360-567-1739
www.accidentinjurycare.com
*20 year specialist in treating car accident injuries, work place injuries, and neck and back pain.
