Post Accident Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy, Chiropractic... My diary notes

This post includes my notes that I would write in my diary on a somewhat regular basis as I went through physical therapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic therapy to help me heal from the auto accident.  These notes span months and months of comments, thoughts and feelings that I felt as I went through very painful treatment to fix my back and spine after the rear-ending car accident. 

Not included - and I will add this information later is the re-whiplashing of my neck, three years of trying PT to fix my spine.  And the fusion surgery......

2-5-7 Update

Backslide per chiro doc and massage therapists. - neck and back are worse today.

Back and neck hurt - had a 3 day headache last week.  Muscles above shoulder blades are taught.  Left side muscles feels like tendon is popping off - hurts… hurts still to turn my neck.  Chiro office was closed. I called my regular doctor for more muscle relaxants or Vicoden.

LOTS of muscle spasms ALL the time.

I still feel dizzy,  my anxiety attacks are constant and I cannot sleep. (started again with accident). (Post Traumatic Stress per Dr Michael Wahling).

My rib on right side keeps popping in and out,  hurts and is annoying - sore.

Beginning Notes:

Issues:  Still taking IB daily, but it doesn't help. Out of muscle relaxants. -

Lower, mid back and neck still messed up. Burning pain in lower,  hurts to get in and out of cars - lower, I have to use my arms to get out of a car. Cracks, Pops constantly.

Neck Messed up.  Tight muscles and tendons, knots,  cracks, pops,  muscles in neck and shoulders feel like guitar strings. Hurts my head to turn my neck for even short periods of time. 

Muscles keep spasming all over - legs, arms, eye, etc… (nerve damage???)

Bruised on right side where seatbelt was on chest and under armpit and at my hips (both hips).

Right rib popped out of joint.  (keeps popping in and out)

Middle back messed up.  Vertebre out of alignment,  sore, tender, pops

Pain in font right rib cage in chest - hurt right away after accident. - still bothers me,  ribs pop in and out of joint when I breath or move.  Hurts.

Right and left shoulder blades pop in and out of joints,  hurts,  crunches.

Lower Back, Neck and right chest hurt right away after car accident. (within 45 min or so of accident (rib in chest was popped out of joint on right side))

Muscle and tendon tension in neck and all over back.  Muscles in neck and back, shoulders feel like guitar strings.

Post Traumatic stress - seeing a therapist for it.  Feeling jumpy, tense, loud noises make me jump,  teary eyed - weird things make me want to cry.  Blood pressure was up for at least a week afterwards. Not sleeping well, heartburn is at it's worst.

Right after accident - head felt dizzy, mind felt fuzzy (for many weeks afterwards!)- I couldn't remember stuff. Brain felt goofy.  I still feel that way - memory is bad, I can't remember the correct words for things I want to say.  It's concerning, and unnerving. 

Chiro 3 times per week.

Massage  therapy 3 times per week - therapy is painful.

Psych once per week - post traumatic stress and Anxiety.

Take IBU daily still. – it doesn’t help the pain, just barely takes the edge off.

Starting physical therapy this week 2-26-07

Problems urinating – I think I am done, but when I stand, I am still going!???

Torn tendon in left shoulder.

2-26-07 Neck, Back, Lower Back, both shoulders, head still hurt.  Torn tendon in my left shoulder, trouble orgasming still, left and right shoulders pop all the time,  left elbow and wrist also.  Neck, back all pop all the time (never used to).  Left shoulder blade there is a tendon or muscle that feels like someone is snapping a rubberband.  It does this all the time.  Never happened before accident. Still some depression.  Really crabby, moody.

Right rib cage feels like something popped (back in?  Out?) don't know, but the right side of rib cage hurt bad right after accident) was an odd pain.  - Laura remembers.

March 5th 2007 -

Lower back hurts all the time. (really bad)

Spasms driving me nuts.

Whole back hurts and pops.

Per therapist I have a torn ligament in my Left shoulder

Muscle\tendon in left shoulder blade area still "snaps" all the time - hurts.

My neck hurts - chiropractor said it's still really bad.

Going in to see Dr. Adatia again Tues March 6th.

Prelim report and the photos of the damage.  I called Mark at Future Forensics because he didn’t mention the trunk being out of alignment, he didn’t show a photo of the trunk out of alignment (and if you look closely or feel the trunk alignment you can definitely tell it’s off).  So I’ve got a call into him to ask him about how that will be adjusted and if it’s in this quote or not.

Back update:

My back hurts all the time, especially the lower back. (Neck isn’t great either)

Both shoulders now pop and crackle.

I have a torn ligament in my left shoulder per my therapist, and I have to be careful not to tear it more.

I have the snapping “rubber band” feeling in the muscles\tendons in my right shoulder blade.

The right rib in front still aches – the rib popped out of joint and didn’t pop back in until a few weeks after the accident.

I went to a counselor a few weeks after the accident because I was having (per him) post traumatic stress.

I was very high strung, and jumpy and emotional – depressed, cry over nothing.  Anxiety attacks were and still are frequent since the accident. – Not pleasant.

There is more, but this is just a summary.

I go to see my doctor about my lower back tomorrow. I’m going to talk to him about a back support device (it hurts that much).

Chiro doctor said I can resume some activities  - tried to go jogging last week and I had sharp pains in my lower back.  Back hurt worse the rest of the week. Now I have sharp pains in the lower back even when not jogging.  - mb 3-20-07

Sharp pain in low back happens even when not running now.  03-21-07

3-22-07 Can I sign medical release of info to insurance co?  Do I need a lawyer?  The ins co wants to pay me for the vehicle damage - can I accept payment for that?  The insurance company is calling my car damage minor and that my medical costs are exceeding a car with "minor" damage expected.

The other person said she had zero damage (mine LOOKED like zero to no damage until you took off the bumper and saw the metal was twisted) - the main cause for my injuries being so bad is because my head was turned to the right when hit - I was contemplating turning at this light or the next light.  She hit me going I would guess 35 mph.  Injuries are definitely getting better from when I was first hit, but I still have pain in my back (upper and lower)  Anxiety attacks are still there since accident. (they have steadly been getting worse)

__________________________________________________________________________

Update 3-26-07

Back still hurts (lower) upper left shoulder blade (rubber band) still hurts (snaps) often enough.  Never had it before the accident, lower back pain was never constant or like this all the time either.  I can't turn my head left or right like it should.  Still feels like it "pulls" odd feeling.

Overall I can tell it's gotten better but not back to normal by a long shot.  Insurance wants an independent eval.  I have no problem with that.

They say my physical damage "shouldn't be this bad" based on the fact that I "only" had $1000.00 damage to my car. 

Future Forensics Mark - said my neck and back are messed up because my head was turned to the right when I was hit,  and because my head is like 12" away from my head rest.  (whip lash) 

and that the car is "built to take a hit" and did well in car crash tests… (translation - the car is stiff and takes a hit, but the people in side bounce around like rubber balls!)  My thoughts - they make rear end parts cheap so "damage" in rear endings "cost wise" is less - and equates to less dollar damage = less physical personal damage???  How do dollars equate to physical force damage???  Insurance logic!?

Update 6-8-2007

I still have involuntary spasms all over - not a frequent but mostly daily and annoying.  Back and neck hurt on occasion.  Back still hurts just getting out of car mostly daily.  It never did before accident.

My head was "goofy" after the accident for a long time, and it seems it still is.  It feels like it's getting better, but I've "shown up" for more appointments on wrong days, I look at the calendar and see things due on the wrong dates,  I forget what I am going to say,  and forget why I went into a room more often than I ever did.  ( I never showed up on wrong days for appts before)  It's quite annoying).  I feel like I'm 70 with Alzheimer’s.

Depression is getting better.  I'm still not sleeping some nights.  Sometimes it feels like I'm up all night.  I never had this before accident.

7-20-2007

I still have lots of muscle spasms on a daily basis.  Some days worse than others.  It's worse with activity it seems like right after walking 20 min. These started the day of the accident and they are still an issue which is quite distressing.

I told the IME that I still had these spasms, I've told my doctors I still have these spasms, but it's not going away and they are quite distressing.  I'm going to ask the doctor to pursue the issue and find out what's going on.  Is it nerve damage?  It must be?  I have a lot more spasms this week, and I am getting leg cramps in my right leg.  This has been going on for a while, they seem to be getting worse.  Also my tongue feels like it's "tingling" or "pulsing" on the right side.  The right side after the accident was the worst with muscle spasms.

I'm still very forgetful still, sometimes I think it's better, but then I find out I've mis-scheduled a doctors appt, or another appt and I don't show up, or I show up on the wrong day.  I NEVER did that before - my head's been "goofy" since the accident. It's very disturbing.

Aug 20 , 2007

I still have muscle spasms all over my  body. It’s annoying and unnerving. Pain is always there, some days better than others.  The numbness is easy to ignore, but still a concern.

Aug 28, 2007

I still have muscle spasms all over my body.  It’s still annoying.  My adrenal glands are shot. (don’t know if it’s related)  My cortosol is VERY low (low normal while ON the supplement Isocort),  I wonder if the accident caused this or if it exacerbated it?  I’m taking a regimen of recommended vitamins to help with this. Per the original doctors (chiropractors) review the spine was damaged affecting the adrenal glands.

SEPT 14^TH 2007

Still have muscle spasms all over body.

Neck bothers me –sometimes gets “stuck” (literally)  when I turn my head.  Hurts to hold my head to the Left for more than a few minutes. It clicks and hurts in general.

Memory problems are still bad – they have been really bad since the accident.

Lower back still hurts when I do anything, but it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be.

Left shoulder, elbow and wrist still bother me, not as much as it did right after the accident – (I had a torn ligament in the left shoulder from accident).

I also had a Rib pop out of joint on the right side of my chest when the accident occurred.  (it popped back in a few days later)

October 1^st 2007

My doctor Dr. Jane Dunham – I went to see her last week to talk to her about my accident – asked her am I ready to settle with the insurance company,  will my spasms and other issues get any better??    She ordered an MRI of my neck.  (my first doctor Adatia should have ordered an MRI right after the accident!)   MRI showed that I have “Severe Spinal Stenosis” in C4 – C5, and Moderate Stenosis in C3 – C4. Due to Disk Bulging and Bone Spur Formations, and spinal compression.

Doctor said I have to go see a Neurosurgeon (ugh!) for my neck.. 

Findings on web:  Spinal stenosis can occur in either the lower (lumbar) back or in the neck (cervical) area. Spinal stenosis affects the lower back more often than any other area.  Spinal stenosis of the neck occurs more rarely but can be crippling if not treated.   (oh great)

October 3^rd 2007

I’ve done some research on the web about SSS and the sooner you get treated the better as far as controlling damage!  So why when I told my doctors (Dr Adatia, and Dr Borg, and the ER Doctor) repeatedly that I was “having muscle spasms all over my body” and they started right immediately after the accident, did they not think gee “ maybe” there is nerve damage???  I think it’s because I’m a woman, and men or male doctors (in general) don’t listen to women.  I told Jane Dunham about it, and she had an MRI done asap, and look what was found, but it’s 9 months since the accident!!!  

The worst part may be that  my lower and mid back were as painful or worse than my neck after the accident, an MRI of those areas has not been done yet, what could be wrong there??  I will ask the Neurosurgeon to do an MRI on the rest of my back.

I am hugely scared & depressed by what I read about an SSS (severe spinal stenosis), ALL the nerves in your body go through the neck. I could end up paralyzed, lose control of my body functions including going to the bathroom.  Much more, and I could be in severe pain for the rest of my life!

The depression and the post traumatic stress and all the pain were bad for months, now this with the SSS.  

Symptoms I’ve had related to the accident:  numbness and tingling in all my extremities (well I did think these were related), my back and neck all pop and crack all the time now – they never did before accident( I knew these were related).  I’ve had issues when I go to the bathroom I “think” I’m done going, but when I stand up, I’m still, (it’s embarrassing) and it’s never happened to me before the accident – it seems to come and go – do it for a while, then stop.  But it still happens now and then.  And of course the muscle spasms I have had all over my body from day one after the accident.  I told my doctors all of this.

The Car Accident in Renton, WA Continued...

I remember thinking I really need to take the ITIL class because it was on my goals list for work, and I'd already missed two classes already.  I felt "OK" I told them, though something in the front of my chest on the right side was bothering me.  I left my car in Renton and Laura drove us the rest of the way.  I knew I was amped up on adrenaline and I wondered if I would be sore later that day.  The right side of my chest just to the right of center burned and hurt.  I kept rubbing the side of my chest on the right side but I couldn't find a sore spot.  It just hurt and burned. 

About 30 minutes later we arrived at class, and about another 30 or so minutes later I started feeling like I should have gone to the emergency room with the paramedics.  My whole spine felt "fragile".  I don't know how else to explain it, my whole spine felt like it wanted to go out or "tweak" at any moment.  I took handfuls of Advil throughout the day and tried to make it through the class.  I know if I would have asked Laura she would have driven me to the ER, but I wasn't bleeding and I didn't have any bones poking out (that I knew of) so I stayed and kept popping Advil and sat in the hard plastic classroom chairs all day.

The burning in my chest continued, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable throughout the day but I made it to the end of class.  My whole spine felt odd, like it wanted to go out at any minute.  Laura dropped me off at my car in Renton, and I decided to stop at Valley Hospital on my way home to get checked out.  The waiting room in at Valley Hospital was packed.  Admitting said there was about a six hour wait.  I just couldn't bear the thought of sitting in that waiting room as uncomfortable as I was for six hours so I left and decided to call my regular doctor.  I called Dr. Adatia on my way down HWY 167, they were full and could not get me in.  I then thought to call my Chiropractor Borg Chiropractic, and they said to come right in and they would take X-rays.

The X-rays showed exactly what I was feeling.  My spine looked like it was all crooked and ready to go out.  Borg said I needed a bunch of Chiropractic and Massage at three times per week for X amount of months (I think it was for 3 + months or more, I don't remember exactly).  He told me to use ice every 15 minutes, then heat for the discomfort.  I forgot to mention to Borg about the burning in my chest.  That night I got home and I started taking Advil and doing the ice and heat thing.  The accident occurred on a Wednesday, by Friday of that same week I was in so much pain I stopped by St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way (The city I work in) to get pain meds and muscle relaxers. I was sore everywhere.  My head felt fuzzy and confused.  My whole back was a mess and hurt.  My low back hurt, my neck hurt and everywhere in-between felt a mess.  And my head seemed to fall to the right side (if you remember my head had been turned to the right when I was hit, causing the left side to hyper-extend out and whip back when I got hit).  The left side of my neck, the muscles were all "stretched out" is all I could figure, so my head flopped right. I had whiplash per the ER.  They gave me vicoden and muscle relaxers and it helped some but everyting in my body hurt.  St. Francis wouldn't take an MRI because it didn't seem emergent to them, they said to schedule one through my primary care doctor.  Though they did note that my blood pressure on the left arm was 30 points different than on my right arm.  My body was what I can only call "spasming" all over all the time.  I had nerve damage in my neck and back and my whole body was tweaking.  The muscle spasms were so bad that they spasmed all the way around to my stomach muscles.  Thank God for muscle relaxers!  The constant muscle spasms went on for months,  I still have muscle spasms to date, though not as constant, and it's been three years since the accident!  My mind didn't seem to be working right either.  I was more forgetful than usual and my thinking was fuzzy.  I'm still having spasms but not as often.  It took +++ months for the confused forgetful feeling to get better.   My back has been so bad that I couldn’t stand up from a sitting position without using my arms to support my weight, I’ve got burning in my neck and back, my limbs feel heavy.  I also had post-traumatic stress, I was depressed about the constant pain, tense, jumpy, weepy and anxious for a long time after the accident.  All in all the experience is\was\has been miserable

By day three I finally found out why the right side of my chest hurt.  I had popped a rib out of my sternum during the accident!  I felt it pop back in by day three and it was VERY painful when it did!  I felt around the sternum and sure enough I found the sore spot.  The rib that had popped out was VERY painful where the joint was in my sternum.  I gave it some thought and the reason the rib had hurt further to the right in my chest at the time of the accident is because that is where the stress point was on the rib!  Now I also had soreness in my sternum too!

More later..... 



    

The Car Accident in Renton, WA

On the morning of January 3rd, 2007 I drove to Renton Washington to meet my coworker and friend Laura.  It was a fairly nice day, sunny and promising.  I was stopped at a stoplight on Grady way three cars back from the light.  I was looking to the right as I waited for the light, looking for a right  turn into a parking lot at the Starbucks on Grady to meet my friend.  We were to carpool the rest of the way to Bellevue for an ITIL Certification class that was required for our job's. 

As I waited at the light I felt a very hard hit and my body jolted forward.  I had been hit by a car and to my estimation it felt like a very hard hit.  I had Laura on my cell on my earpiece.  And I recall saying "I've been hit!".  I think I motioned to the car that hit me to pull into the parking log on our right.  After I parked I called 911 and told the operator that I had just been in a car accident.  The operator asked me if there was more than $800.00 damage and if I was hurt.  I told them YES  there was more than $800.00 damage, site unseen I knew it was a very hard hit and I imagined my rear end was probably smashed in. 

I got out of my car shaking, I walked to to the back of my car and recall being shocked, the back of my car looked fine??  I reassessed my own injuries, did I hit my head??  I knew it was a very hard hit, maybe I didn't recall hitting my head.  I felt my forhead feeling for a bump or cut and I didn't think I felt anything.  I screwed up my eyes and looked again at the back end of my car, and then at the front end of the Honda that had hit me.  By then the owner of the Honda was standing beside me  I believe I asked her if she was OK and I believe she said yes.  I looked at the front of her Honda and it was smashed in.  She said to me, oh that's from an old accident.  So it was impossible to identify how much was new damage.

I recall feeling like my body was tight and aching, tense.  The police officer arrived on the scene and started taking information.  I went back to my car to get my ID and I felt a tweak in my neck.  The paramedics arrived and they took my vitals.  My bloodpressure was pretty high something like 178/90 or there abouts.  I guess I was rubbing my neck and moving quite a bit and the paramedics said you seem to be in pain.  They said my face and body movememnts suggested I was uncomfortable or in pain.  I have a high pain tolerance, and while I was uncomfortable, the adrenaline was rushing though me, and I was irrationally thinking .....