Not all injuries are visible on day one. And the one that gets missed is often the one that causes chronic pain.
After a car crash, most people get basic imaging: an X-ray, maybe an MRI. And if nothing shows up, they’re told they’re fine. But what if the real injury isn’t visible on those tests?
There are three main types of spinal injuries you can suffer in a crash:
1. Fractures (Bone Injury)
This is damage to the vertebrae — the bones of your spine. It shows up clearly on standard X-rays. If you’ve broken something, this is the test that will find it.
2. Disc Herniations (Disc Injury)
Your discs are like cushions between the bones. A disc herniation means the disc has bulged or torn. MRIs are good at spotting this. If you have nerve pain down an arm or leg, a disc injury might be the cause.
3. Spinal Ligament Damage (Support Injury)
These are the ligaments that hold your spine together — like internal scaffolding. When they’re overstretched or torn, your spine becomes unstable. This condition is called spinal instability. And here’s the problem: it doesn’t show up on an MRI.
Instead, it takes stress X-rays and a specific type of analysis called CRMA™ to find.
Why It Matters
Spinal ligament injuries are the most serious of the three — and the most likely to become permanent. They lead to:
- Long-term neck or back pain
- Headaches and migraines
- TMJ and jaw tension
- Dizziness and brain fog
- Early disc degeneration
Most patients who suffer from chronic spinal pain have this injury — but were never tested for it.
What We Do Differently
At Advanced Health Chiropractic, we test for all three injuries:
- We use X-rays to rule out fractures
- We refer for MRI if disc damage is suspected
- And we use in-house stress X-rays and CRMA™ to find spinal ligament damage
If you’ve been told your imaging was normal but you’re still in pain, don’t ignore it. You may have an injury no one looked for.
We specialize in identifying and treating spinal ligament injuries — and helping you finally get real answers.
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