Seeking Advice: DD Was in Minor Car Accident & Complains of Back Pain

Hi L.,
I would take her to a chiropractor right away. Perhaps she is feeling muscle tenderness. If there is anything that needs attention a good chiropractor will take care of it. I would feel more comfortable with that approach than MD's prescribing muscle relaxers, pain meds. HTH!

Start with your pediatrician if you want drugs to mask the symptoms, physical therapy, and/or and MRI to check for disc damage. Go to a chiropractor if you want no drugs and for your daughter to be checked to see if a subluxation is causing the pain. Even a very minor spinal subluxation (misalignment) can cause a lot of pain, as it is literally the vertabrae out of place, putting pressure on nerves and therefore causing pain from the minor to the severe spectrums. I have found that many, many doctors do not understand the role of chiropractic care and often advise against it. I personally had chronic back pain for 16 years after a car accident, which finally went away completely once I was under chiropractic care for a short while. So, you can see which way I recommend! The chiro I see currently is trained in pediatrics and is an excellent chiropractor! His name is Mick Mahan, at Discover Chiropractic in the Copperfield area. ###-###-####. If that is too far for you to drive, I highly recommend finding a chiro trained in pediatrics. They are not all trained in pediatrics, and I have seen several who I would not take my child to for care, due to the lack of training and their overall comfort w/ kids. Personally, I believe that Dr. Mahan is more than worth the drive!! And, contrary to what some others have said, even a very small child CAN understand back pain and communicate it effectively.

L., I see several suggestions here that advise you to make your first stop at the pediatrician's office, with the assumption they will direct you toward a chiropractor "if necessary". The truth is that most pediatricians are not equipped to determine whether a child needs chiropractic care or not. They are trained in the therapeutic use of drugs and surgery, and typically know very little about chiropractic or its conservative methodologies. Chiropractic is safe, drugless and should be your first line of defense following any trauma of his type. With the mechanical problems that often develop after musculo-skeletal injuries, drugs do not offer a solution for permanent correction and only serve to disguise the symptoms, which will return (as in your case) as much more serious problems later in life if they are not adequately resolved. If you need help finding a qualified pediatric chiropractor in your area, please let me know and I can assist you. Children who are complaining of back pain should always be assessed by a doctor of chiropractic, as this is a red-flag for potentially serious spinal problems that can usually be easily handled in the right hands.

umm.... carseat? Was she in it? She should have had no issues with her back especially if she was properly restrained in her carseat. More than likely there is another issue at hand. You need the pediatrician to examine her and run some lab work. And if she isn't in a good car seat that is appropriate for her size, get one.

You should definitely take her to her pediatrician and have her checked out to make sure. I certainly can not imagine why a chiropractor would treat a 3 year old child nor why you would want to take a 3 year old to a Chiro. I can understand you wanting to make sure since you had your back issues in the past however remember that cars are much safer today than they were years ago, plus car seats are as well. If you are filing a claim with the other parties insurance don't delay as delaying can effect your claim. I am sure the pediatrician will find she is fine but certainly don't just assume she is if she is complaining. It could be just muscle spasms but they still hurt. Good Luck and I hope all will turn out OK. Make sure you let the other insurance company know she has been complaining and you will be taking her to your doctor to be checked out. If you take her to a chiro at that age the insurance company will or could question the treatment and possibly deny the claim. Providing the treatment is a result of the accident, the other insurance company will want to make an offer of settlement based on that treatment.

Start with your pediatrician...

Yeah, you should take her to your pediatrician and they can tell you what you need to do as far as taking her to a chiropractor. You might need to let your insurance company know as soon as you take her in and find out something. They can talk to the at fault driver's insurance company and work it out.

I pray that your daughter recovers well and has no long-lasting effects from this accident.

Chiropractor! Try maximizedlivingchiropractors.com. The best! Our family chiro is Dr. Mahan. He is in NW Houston near Copperfield/Cypress, and is phenominal. His office is Discover chiropractic, and the # is ###-###-####. I know this will help both of you. Feel free to email me with any questions.

I had a rear end collision once too and my children were both with me. It was a fairly minor collision too, but my neck felt strange....almost like my head was moved forward....so a few days later I went to the chiro and sure enough....that's exactly what had happened and with just a few adjustments I was ok. Now, I went ahead an had my children evaluated too. (Son was 4 and daughter was 6). The insurance adjuster tried to make me feel like an idiot with her insinuations about the ridiculousness of this. So, I put it in perspective for her (right after I asked her if she had kids and how does she sleep at night?).....So, think of it this way - the children are in the backseat, so therefore, they are closer to the impact when you are rear-ended. Anyway, yes, they needed a few adjustments and then they were just fine.....and, they enjoyed it! Better safe than sorry! The insurance company is going to want you to sign a release....don't sign it until you have your daughter checked out. And, the sooner the better.

Hi L.. Sorry to hear about problems with your daughter being in pain. I see a great chiropractor at Spinal Care Chiropractic http://www.spinalcarechiro.com/index.html.
They offer a wide variety of services & I am very impressed with their practice.
I have seen several children there during my appts.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Good luck!

If I were in your shoes, I would want to err on the side of caution. Take her to her pediatrician. Three and a half is too young to be complaining about back pain. God forbid, it is something else. Please, from personal experience of a friend, take your child to the doctor.

Definately take her to her pedi. How long ago was the accident you didn't mention that. You mentioned that the other person was at fault and are fixing the property damages well since there are injuries as well the other persons insurance should cover all the medical expenses plus pain and suffering. I am a paralegal in El Paso and work in a personal injury law firm. The only problem would be if it has been over a week since the accident. Personal injury lawyers do their cases on a contingency fee which means you have nothing to pay up front and nothing to lose. If your daughter has insurance use that then the other persons insurance company will reimburse them and pay out an amount for your daughter. I agree such a young child should not be complaining of back pain. Either go to the ER now or her Pediatrician. Good luck
C.

By all means take her to the doctor...what are you waiting for? If the other person is at fault then that insurance should pay for the expenses. I would start with the pediatrician and then go from there. But leave no stone unturned to make sure your daughter is completely well. May you have peace as you seek help for her.

I would go to the pediatrician and see if he/she feels she needs to be referred to a pediatric orthopedist. Then maybe physical therapy would be prescribed.

I would go straight to a chiropractor. Try to find one that treats children regularly and/or has children of their own.

Take her to the ped first. They will send you where you need to go from there. The average 3.5year old doesn't know what back pain is, I would take it seriously, but the ped should always be the first stop. She is still growing so maybe some physical therapy would help more than a chiropractor at this point, but only your ped will know. The young ones are often more resiliant than us old folk. ;)
Good luck.

Go immediately to the pediatrician and get this checked out. Children this age should not be complaining of back pain. It could be from the accident, but it is also possible that it is related to something else such as a urinary tract infection.

Don't diagnose the situation yourself and run to a specialist. See her pediatrician first, who will be able to assess your daughter and determine the best course of action - whether that involves a specialist or not.

Definitely take her to her pediatrician. Joint/bone pain in an other wise healthy child that is to young be in sports is not normal. (Except for growing pains) She could just be repeating things she has heard, but I would be on the safe side. The pediatrician might order an x-ray to rule out any fractures. This would be highly unlikely in a little fender bender but it would put your mind at ease. If she is still complaining she might recommend a little physical therapy as she might have just sprained something. Probably nothing but if it were my little angel I would get it checked out. Hope this helps.

Try chiropractic. Soft-tissue to the back & neck occur at as little as 5 mph. After getting whiplash once, you are more susceptible to whiplash in the future. Also, look for someone who does laser or ultra-sound for soft-tissue.

Unresolved injuries don't go away, they just get masked by other daily issues until years later when they become debilitating.

I agree with the responses stating you need to start with the ped. first. At the age of 3 1/2, a child is old enough to tell you if they hurt or not, especially if it is mentioned more than once and on another day, too. Also let the insurance company know that you are taking a MINOR to the doctor due to the car accident. Mentioning the word minor to an insurance company really gets them on their toes. Also ask the doctor about his opinion of visiting a chiro. My daughter has visited one since she was very young due to curvature of the spine.
I have visited the chiro. due to being rear-ended, hit broad side, and falling into a doorframe and splitting my eyebrow open. Each time I could feel my body out of whack.
My just-turned-5 yrs.old granddaughter loves going to the "bed doctor" (as she calls her) with me. And on occasions, she has been adjusted, and is always amazed when her body pops, just like mine. As one of the responses mentioned, a chiro. can feel what a m.d. doc. can not see.

Definately go to her pediatrician. We as adults think muscles, bones, spine, etc, when we hear "back pain", but there could also be something internal going on and the only language she has for it is her back. I had spleen damage once that was felt in the back.

The pediatrician will know what to look for beyond those things that we think of. I am not suggesting that she has spleen damage, just giving that as an example to say that she needs medical care.

pediatrician first. chiro if what ped. recommends doesn't seem to help. Sometimes what a chiro needs to feel doesn't show up immediately after accident.

We took my son to a chiro 3 weeks after an accident----hard to do much at chiro then. But at the 6 weeks mark, he had the info he needed to really help a lot.

have read some more of the replies. I do not agree with those who said ER right away. You cannot take a child who has been in a minor/ fender bender accident to the ER!
If the other driver's insurance refused to pay that claim, and they could---it was a minor accident---YOU would be stuck with the entire bill. In the thou$and$, possibly. Insurance co. will not refuse to pay a doctor's visit, as it is appropriate in this situation.

one more thing: don't make a big deal about the back pain...don't let your daughter hear you tell others over and over about her back. Sometimes this is way too much suggestion for them.....they hear the fear and worry in your voice and react to that b/c they believe something is wrong with them.
One of my neighbor's kids did that once with a broken foot. The more people made a big deal about the foot x-ray, the more the kid started acting like he was dying!

I'm speaking from car-wreck experience whenI recommend using acupuncture to help with the healing. The lines of energy in the body have been interrupted, and any competent acupuncturist can align them to help the body heal itself. I believe he would only do PRESSURE points, not needles, with your daughter due to her age, but the philosophy in acupuncture applies.

I see Dr. Mu located in Westlake. ###-###-####) He has a private practice and is a Professor of Acupuncture at the College of Chinese Medicine in South Austin. He has small children of his own so he is experienced in working with little ones.

I'm sure he also could help you with your arthritis issues!
Take care,
P.

L.,

I was in a minor accident a month ago. There was not much damage to my car, but my body and neck positioning at the point of impact caused a lot of pain. Though it was not an extreme hit, I had whiplash, spinal straightning due to muscle spasms at the point of impact, lower back pain, etc. Even a small impact can cause damage to the body. just to give you an idea, my medical bills are upwards of $3K already and it's still climbing. If your daughter is complaining, you need to have her looked at. Definitely take her to see a pediatrician and they will recommend where to go from there. Best of luck to you and your baby. I hope she starts feeling better. Be sure to save all invoices (not just the amount you pay for co-pay) and submit them to insurance to have them pay for all of it.

Definitely get her checked out. But, keep in mind that kids, especially at that age, repeat what others have said even up to a year ago to get attention and feel grown up. She's heard you or someone or even a commercial talk of back pain. Also, if you've asked her about any pain, she may all of a sudden have pain. Keep those in mind - but definitely get her checked out since she was in an accident.

take her to the pediatrician! better safe than sorry, and be sure to let the insurance know so they can pick up the bill.

I agree with J. Z. Your pedi will tell you she has a "sprain/strain" of her back, and never fix the spine biomechanically (ie. if her bones/joints have been misaligned). Then she will just have to "live" with that. Not good, or fair, to a 3 year old. I might also recommend a lawyer to make sure her care is covered, especially since you're husband wasn't at fault.

Yes, she definitely needs to be taken to a Doctor, then they will refer a chiro if need be, also the adverse driver's insurance should be paying for the Doctor visits. It is hard to get them to pay for anything unless you hire an attorney. I work for an attorney. I see it all the time. Regardless if you hire an attorney, take her to the M.D. first and go from there.

Hi L.
I would most definitely get her to a Chrio who specializes in children- My grandson had a similar issue jumping on a trampeline- he needed the treatment and had done great-don't delay.......
good luck and blessings

Start with the pediatrician and get a referral from her if necessary. Avoid a orthopediac surgeon because they will just want to do surgery. If nothing wrong is detected from the dr., then ask if she could benefit from physical therapy. Good Luck!

You should have your daughter seen immediately. The insurance company for the person at fault is responsible for covering (reimbursing) ALL medical expenses resulting from the accident. If you're covered under your own insurance, be sure to get a detailed statement of what is done at the doctor's office (tests, xrays, etc and their individual cost) and MAKE COPIES. The other driver's insurance should reimburse you for any out-of-pocket expense and should also reimburse the insurance company for related expenses. Also, DO NOT sign any releases from the auto insurance people until you get a full release signed by your doctor.

You don't say how long ago the accident was or whether you have been talking about your own back hurting since the accident. I would err on the side of caution, however, and take her to your pediatrician. If you are not satisfied with the pediatrician's assessment, ask him/her for a referral. I would NOT take her straight to a chiropractor! I have no idea if there is any pediatric training required in that profession and your insurance may well not cover it without a referral since it is often considered an alternative medicine.