When you’ve been in a motor vehicle accident, it’s normal to experience soreness in your neck and back. But when the pain lingers, it can interfere with your daily life by making routine activities like driving, working, or even sitting comfortably more difficult. It’s even more frustrating when diagnostic scans show nothing, yet the discomfort remains.
Facet joint injuries are frequently overlooked because they aren’t as easy to detect. This spinal condition, which is sometimes referred to as facet joint syndrome, can lead to chronic pain and limited mobility. In this guide, we’ll highlight how these injuries happen, their common symptoms, and how a Marietta car accident lawyer can help.
What Are Facet Joints?
Facet joints exist at every level of your spine, with a pair positioned on the left and right side of each vertebra. Each joint is surrounded by a fluid-filled capsule that lets you move without stiffness or pain. Although they support your spine, they’re also delicate: these joints are lined with cartilage and contain nerve endings. They’re also supported by connective tissue that stabilizes the spine and contributes to joint sensitivity after trauma.
When your back absorbs force during a car accident, it can lead to swelling, cartilage wear, and inflammation, all of which contribute to persistent pain. If the damage progresses, the joint may become arthritic, causing even routine tasks to trigger discomfort. In these cases, the symptoms may evolve into facet joint syndrome, which can be difficult to manage without targeted care.
How Car Accidents Can Damage Facet Joints
As we stated above, car accidents can place excessive force on the spine. Rear-end collisions, in particular, can cause rapid back-and-forth movement that injures the cervical spine. Joint pain is usually one of the first facet injury symptoms you notice, but trauma to these areas may also result in muscle weakness, especially if nearby nerves are irritated. Depending on the angle and severity of the impact, the lumbar region may also be affected, leading to lower back stiffness, radiating discomfort, and trouble standing or walking for extended periods.
Even low-speed collisions can cause joint trauma. Whiplash injuries, for example, frequently involve the facet joints. Neck injuries are also common, especially in crashes that force your head forward and backward. Either condition can result in swollen or misaligned facet joints and trigger muscle spasms, leaving you in constant pain and limiting your ability to move freely.
How Do You Know if You've Suffered a Facet Joint Injury?
Facet joint injuries have a wide range of symptoms that include:
- Localized Pain: You may experience a steady ache near your spine (normally in your neck or lower back) that becomes more noticeable when you move. This dull ache is usually the first sign that something isn’t right.
- Stiffness: You might find it harder to twist your upper body, turn your head, or bend forward without feeling discomfort.
- Limited Range of Motion: Simple actions like reaching into the back seat of your car or checking your blind spot may become more difficult than usual.
- Tenderness: The area around the injured joint might feel sore or tender, especially when touched after you’ve been resting.
- Pain After Inactivity: You may notice the pain gets worse after sitting for a while or first thing in the morning, and improves with light movement.
- Relief While Lying Flat: You might find some relief when lying down, but the discomfort usually returns once you get up and resume your daily activities.
- Cervical Headaches: If the injury affects your neck, you could experience headaches that begin at the base of your skull and extend toward your forehead or temples.
Identifying these patterns early on can help your doctor make a more accurate diagnosis and begin appropriate treatment before the injury becomes more severe.
Diagnosis and Medical Treatment for Facet Joint Syndrome
Identifying a facet joint injury requires a combination of clinical assessment and diagnostic testing. They include:
- Physical Examination: Your physician will evaluate your posture, mobility, and areas of tenderness to understand which part of your spine may be affected.
- Imaging Studies: While MRIs and CT scans may be ordered, they often fail to detect damage to the facet joints directly. These tests are more useful for ruling out other injuries.
- Diagnostic Injections: A medial branch block or a facet joint injection may be used to isolate the joint causing the pain. Because this involves injecting medication into the joint area, it's considered an invasive procedure. These joint injections serve both as a diagnostic tool and a short-term treatment for inflammation. If your symptoms improve after the injection, it confirms the joint as the likely source.
- Conservative Treatment: Initial treatment options include anti-inflammatory medications, activity modification, and physical therapy to improve strength and range of motion. In certain cases, your medical providers may also prescribe pain medication to help manage discomfort during the early stages of healing.
- Advanced Pain Management: If conservative measures don’t help, your doctor may recommend radiofrequency ablation or nerve blocks to reduce pain signals from the affected joint. These interventions are commonly used in patients diagnosed with facet joint syndrome, especially when the condition doesn't improve with conservative care.
- Ongoing Care: Long-term recovery may involve continued therapy, chiropractic treatment, and periodic evaluations to track progress and adjust the treatment plan. For some, this can extend the recovery time, especially if the injury worsens before proper care begins.
With the right care, many people are able to restore mobility, reduce pain, and return to regular activity without long-term limitations. For some, this care brings lasting pain relief and improved quality of life.
Why Facet Joint Injuries Can Be Overlooked After a Crash
Because facet joint injuries share symptoms with back strains or muscle injuries, it’s easy to miss them during early medical evaluations, as imaging results may not clearly identify joint damage. This makes it harder for patients to prove the source of their pain, especially in insurance claims.
When the injury results from a motor vehicle collision, proper documentation is even more important to demonstrate the connection between the crash and your condition. Otherwise, insurance adjusters may question whether you actually had a pre-existing condition, which can result in denied or undervalued injury claims. Medical records create a stronger link between the crash and your injury, which is important if you're pursuing financial compensation.
How a Georgia Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
Unfortunately, facet joint injuries are often dismissed as minor or temporary, even when they lead to ongoing pain, mobility issues, and the need for long-term care. Establishing the impact of your injury through medical records and opinion can help secure the compensation you need.
When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they can communicate with insurance companies on your behalf and make sure that your claim reflects the full extent of your condition. This includes gathering diagnostic results, treatment notes, and medical opinions that show how the injury affects your life. They can also make sure you’re not pressured into accepting less than your claim is worth.
Compensation for Facet Joint Injuries
Facet joint injuries can disrupt daily life, limit productivity, and lead to prolonged discomfort. Any compensation should take into account both the immediate and ongoing impact on your wellbeing and ability to work.
- Medical Bills: Fair compensation should include all healthcare-related costs, from initial emergency care and diagnostic imaging to ongoing follow-ups with pain specialists and physical therapists.
- Rehabilitation and Therapy: Physical therapy, chiropractic care, and other rehabilitative treatments may be necessary for months.
- Lost Income: If your injury keeps you from working, you may be entitled to reimbursement for lost wages.
- Reduced Earning Capacity: Some injuries limit your ability to return to the same type of work. If your long-term earnings are affected, this can also be addressed in a claim.
- Pain and Suffering: Daily discomfort, interrupted sleep, and limits on your normal activities can all result in emotional distress and mental anguish.
- Future Care Costs: Certain injuries may require repeat treatments like nerve blocks or radiofrequency ablation. Your compensation should reflect what you’ll likely need going forward.
Facet joint injuries can take time to heal, and the effects may linger for years. Many people experience chronic pain that makes it difficult to return to work, care for family, or enjoy everyday life. A fair settlement accounts for both the short-term effects and the broader toll on your life.
Injured in a Car Accident? Contact The Champion Firm
At The Champion Firm, we understand how frustrating it is to live with constant neck pain or back spasms. Our car accident attorneys work with injured clients throughout Georgia to help them document what they’re going through, access proper medical care, and pursue full compensation for severe injuries.
If you think a facet joint injury may be the source of your pain, we’ll help you get the diagnosis and support you need. For more information or to schedule a free initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 404-738-7509.
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