So, we at Zarzaur Law have been talking for years about the diagnostic properties of a CT scan and how it compares to machines like MRI’s and XRAYs. You know if you have seen any of our previous videos on Zarzaur Law’s You Tube Channel that MRI’s are the “gold standard” in diagnosing traumatic injuries to vertebral discs. These discs are the “jelly donut”like material between the bony discs that make up our backbones. These discs have two basic structure the outside of the disc is made up of the annulus and the center of the disc is the nucleus pulposus. Like the rest of the body, much of the disc is made up of water content. This water is kept inside the disc by the annulus. Over time disc degenerate like everything else in the body and they lose their water content. When this happens the disc can lose its malleability and it also loses its size and height. This renders the disc desiccated. Trauma too can cause disc desiccation. The mechanism for disc desiccation with trauma is a tearing of the annulus layers of the disc allowing for the fluid filled center to migrate from the disc leaving the disc desiccated. This matter because the purpose of the disc is to act as a shock absorber for the back bones and when the disc becomes desiccated then it loses its ability to absorb shock. Also, given the collapse of the disc and the tear in the outer layers, disc herniation (where the nucleus of the disc extrudes from the annulus) is much more likely. Herniation often results in a compression of the spinal cord and results many times in serious pain and other nerve injury. The only treatments for these herniations are serial pain management treatments and/or surgery.
Car Wrecks often have sufficient forces to cause annular tears and resulting disc desiccation. If you have been involved in any type of trauma and have legal questions associated with this type of injury, please feel free to call us at 855.hirejoe or on the web at www.zarzaurlaw.com.