Case Study #1

I had been in quite a severe motor vehicle accident. I was checked at the emergency department and told that I should go home because everything would be fine. However, I woke up the next morning in so much pain, I was scared. I called my doctor’s office, but the nurse told me they were fully booked and if I required immediate medical attention, I would need to go to a walk in clinic. She did tell me, however that normally the doctor recommends their patients go to National Spine Care for treatment of injuries related to motor vehicle collisions. I called them and they were able to fit me in that day.

The appointment took one hour, which included filling out some paperwork as well as going through my history and a physical examination with their clinical staff. I left that first appointment feeling reassured, because the staff took the time to explain what was wrong and what I could expect to experience as my body began to heal and recover from the injuries. They also helped with my insurance company by contacting them and assisted me in completing the paperwork. I was given very specific instructions as to what I could do to help myself right away. When I returned for my follow up appointment, they took the time to explain how my body recovers from injuries such as these as well as what needed to be done to ensure things healed properly. They also explained how long it was likely to take.

It has now been two months since the accident and I have mostly recovered. I still get some neck pain and stiffness if I sit at my desk or computer too long, but I am now mostly back to normal. I have returned to working full time and our family just enjoyed a ski weekend. I was pretty happy I was able to participate in the skiing with my family because based on how I was feeling a few months ago. I would have never believed I would have gotten back to being active like this.