Car accidents often leave victims with more than just visible injuries. Soft tissue injuries, which are a common result from car crashes, can be surprisingly difficult to locate. These injuries involve damage to ligaments, tendons, muscles, and/or discs in your spine. Common symptoms include but are not limited to: pain, swelling, stiffness, numbness, and tingling.
This is why, even if an injury seems minor at first, it’s important to seek immediate medical attention. Soft tissue damage can worsen over time if left untreated. Moreover, a qualified doctor can diagnose your injuries, know which technology would be best in locating soft tissue injuries, and recommend an effective treatment plan.
If you believe you or a loved one has suffered injuries that were the result of someone else’s negligence, you should know that you may be entitled to financial compensation. To better understand your options, contact the experienced New York construction accident attorneys at Schwartzapfel Lawyers by dialing 516-342-2200 or visiting us online to schedule your free consultation today!
How Do You Diagnose Soft Tissue Injuries?
Unlike broken bones or cuts, which are often obvious, soft tissue injuries occur beneath the surface and require careful diagnosis by trained medical professionals.
Diagnosis is especially important when dealing with insurance companies. Insurers may attempt to downplay your injuries or try to claim they were pre-existing. A proper diagnosis is the first step toward getting the full compensation and benefits you are entitled to for your injuries.
Qualified Analysis Of Symptoms
A skilled medical professional with experience in soft tissue injuries is crucial for an accurate diagnosis. And while you’ll likely feel something after an injury, soft tissue damage can occur in a number of ways, some more subtle than others. To help suss it out, here are some of the red flags to watch out for:
- Pain: This may be immediate, or it could gradually set in over hours or days.
- Swelling: The affected area might look puffy or inflamed.
- Limited Range of Motion: Damaged ligaments and tendons can make it difficult or painful to move certain body parts as you normally would.
- Radiating Pain, Numbness, Or Tingling: Soft tissue injuries can affect nearby nerves, causing sensations to travel to other areas of your body.
Even when seemingly minor, you shouldn’t ignore any of these signs. Delaying treatment could give the insurance company ammunition to argue your injury isn’t serious. It’s in your best interest to seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider right away.
Moreover, qualified medical professionals can help you understand the full extent of your injuries as well as recommend the proper diagnostic tools to get an accurate picture of the damage.
Depending on your symptoms and their initial assessment, your doctor may recommend different ways to visualize your soft tissue injury. As for which technology would be best for locating soft tissue injuries, we at Schwartzapfel Lawyers have compiled a list of some of the most effective choices to help you get the information you need to strengthen your claim.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
If you suspect a soft tissue injury, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) might be the key to unlocking a clear diagnosis. Think of an MRI machine as a super-powered camera designed to peek inside your body, specifically at the soft tissues that often remain hidden on regular X-rays. But how does it actually work?
- Magnets: MRIs use a powerful magnetic field. This field temporarily aligns tiny particles within your body called protons. Protons are abundant in water, and since you’re mostly made of water, this gives the MRI a lot to work with.
- Radio Waves: Next, the MRI sends a brief pulse of radio waves into the area being examined. This pulse knocks the protons slightly out of their magnetic alignment. As they snap back into place, they release energy that the MRI machine can detect.
- Creating A Picture: The amount of energy released and the time it takes for the protons to “relax” varies depending on the type of tissue. This allows the MRI to build a detailed picture of your soft tissues, including ligaments, tendons, muscles, and those all-important spinal discs.
Doctors often turn to MRIs to spot soft tissue injuries because they offer incredible detail, letting them see even tiny tears, strains, and damage to discs within the spine. As such, they’re commonly the gold standard for soft tissue injury locations.
Additionally, MRIs don’t expose you to any radiation like X-rays or CT scans do, and the procedure itself is completely painless. You’ll lie still inside the machine, which can be open or tunnel-like, and hear some knocking or buzzing sounds.
What Are The Challenges Of MRIs?
While tremendously helpful, MRIs do have some limitations. These scans are significantly more expensive than X-rays, so insurance companies may require you to try other diagnostic methods first.
Also, not all hospitals or clinics have MRI machines, and you may experience a long wait for your appointment. Finally, reading MRIs requires training, so a radiologist must carefully analyze the images to provide your doctor with an accurate diagnosis.
Despite these challenges, detailed MRI images can make a world of difference in your case. They provide clear evidence of the injury you suffered, which is crucial if insurance companies try to downplay the seriousness of soft tissue damage.
A skilled legal team like Schwartzapfel Lawyers can use the results from this powerful diagnostic tool to help you secure the maximum compensation you’re entitled to. Don’t wait! Dial 516-342-2200 or schedule your free case evaluation online today!
Radiography (X-Rays)
While X-rays are often known for showing broken bones, they can also play a supporting role in diagnosing soft tissue injuries. Now, you may be wondering, how does that work when X-rays primarily visualize dense materials like bone?
As it so happens, soft tissue damage sometimes indirectly affects the alignment and/or spacing of your bones. For example, a torn ligament might cause instability in a joint, making bones shift slightly out of position.
An experienced doctor can spot these subtle changes on an X-ray, which can then point them toward suspecting a soft tissue problem. Additionally, X-rays may reveal bone spurs, degenerative changes, and other conditions that can develop as a result of long-term soft tissue injuries. What’s more, X-rays continue to offer much in the field of injury diagnosis due to their:
- Wide Accessibility: Most medical facilities have X-ray equipment readily available, making them a quick and easy first step.
- Affordability: X-rays are significantly less expensive than MRIs or CT scans. This is important, as insurance companies often hesitate to approve the pricier tests.
- A Piece Of The Puzzle: While X-rays might not provide the whole picture of your soft tissue injury, the clues they offer could pave the way for the more advanced diagnostics.
And so, while an X-ray may not yield the final word on your soft tissue injury, it may provide a useful starting point for your doctor in determining whether more specific tests are necessary.
Computerized Tomography (CT Scans)
If your doctor suspects a soft tissue injury but traditional X-rays haven’t provided enough detail, a CT scan (Computerized Tomography) may be the next logical step. Note: You can think of a CT scan as a more powerful, 3D version of an X-ray.
With that in mind, here’s the gist of how CT scans work:
- Rotation: Like X-rays, CT scans use radiation. However, a CT machine takes multiple X-ray images from different angles as it rotates around your body.
- Computer Graphics: A computer then combines these images to create cross-sectional slices. This approach provides a much clearer and more detailed view of your bones, organs, and soft tissues.
- Soft Tissue Imaging: Similar to MRIs, CT scans excel at showing soft tissues. They can help doctors pinpoint ligament tears, muscle strains, disc damage, and more.
Significantly, however, while CT scans can be incredibly useful for diagnosing soft tissue injuries, they typically come with a higher price tag than X-rays. As such, insurance companies may be reluctant to authorize this test unless simpler methods prove insufficient.
Why Is A Skilled Attorney Important?
Insurance companies often capitalize on the difficulty of diagnosing soft tissue injuries to minimize claims. They may argue that pain is subjective or that your injuries were preexisting. At this juncture, having the right legal team by your side makes a huge difference.
The experienced attorneys at Schwartzapfel Lawyers understand the games insurance companies play. We’ll help you with the system and secure the medical examinations needed to get an accurate diagnosis of your soft tissue injury.
Our award-winning legal team won’t let the insurance company downplay your pain and suffering. We’ll fight to get you all the money and benefits you’re owed to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and to address the full impact your injuries have on your life. Don’t wait, dial 516-342-2200 now!
Don’t Let the Insurance Companies Win: Call Schwartzapfel Lawyers Today!
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, don’t risk getting shortchanged by the insurance company. The experienced attorneys at Schwartzapfel Lawyers will fight for you every step of the way.
One phone call could make a world of difference, so, please, don’t wait until it’s too late. Instead, act now and schedule your free consultation today. Simply dial 516-342-2200 or visit us online to allow Schwartzapfel Lawyers the honor and privilege of fighting – and winning – for you!
DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this page should be considered legal advice. You should seek the appropriate counsel your situation requires. For more information, call 516-342-2200 now!
Sources:
Schwartzapfel Lawyers, P.C. | Fighting For You
Not just for bones! X-rays can now tell us about soft tissues, too | ScienceDaily
