Trauma Specialist

What is trauma?

Trauma is an injury that affects your physical or emotional well-being. Dr. Myers and Dr. Levene at Spine Solutions specialize in traumatic injuries affecting the spine or brain.

Traumatic injuries are physical injuries resulting from car accidents, sports injuries, bad falls, or other types of unexpected accidents. Though a traumatic injury may affect any part of your body, when you have a spine or head injury, you need expert care.

What are common spine trauma injuries?

Spine trauma injuries include conditions that damage any part of your spine. Types of spine trauma injuries include:

• Disc herniation
• Bulging disc
• Fractured vertebrae
• Strains and sprains
• Whiplash
• Pinched nerve
• Spinal stenosis
• Sciatica
• Radiculopathy

Head trauma injuries include concussions, skull fractures, scalp wounds, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). 

What happens during a trauma evaluation?

Dr. Myers and Dr. Levene conduct comprehensive evaluations when you come in with a trauma injury. They ask detailed questions about your injury, including how it happened and your present symptoms. 

The spine surgeons perform a physical exam, paying close attention to the structure and mobility of your spine. They also perform MRIs or CT scans to diagnose your trauma injury and assess the severity of the damage. 

How is trauma treated?

Treatment for your trauma injury depends on injury type, the severity of symptoms, and overall health. Initially, the board-certified spine surgeons at Spine Solutions may recommend nonsurgical interventions such as:

• Activity modification
• Bracing
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• At-home exercise program
• Physical therapy
• Epidural injections

For a TBI or concussion, your provider may recommend rest with minimal brain stimulation until your symptoms resolve. This rest includes no reading, no video game playing, and no watching television. 

A TBI is a serious injury, and any activity that may worsen your injury can increase your risk of developing more potentially life-threatening complications. 

If nonsurgical care fails to ease your trauma symptoms, the surgeons at Spine Solutions may talk to you about spine or brain surgery. The type of surgery you need depends on your diagnosis.

When performing surgery, the experts use the most advanced tools and techniques to minimize incision size, post-surgery pain, and recovery time.

For expert care of your spine or brain trauma injury, call Spine Solutions or schedule an appointment online today.