You are sitting at a red light waiting for it to change. All of a sudden, you hear the sound of screeching tires and a loud crash. Your car jolts forward and your neck whips backward then forward in a violent motion. You’ve just experienced a whiplash injury. You are experiencing headaches and pain and stiffness in your neck. You go to your doctor complaining of neck pain and headache, so he takes several static x-rays which, of course, are negative because they are taken for three main reasons: to rule out fractures, gross dislocations, and tumors. Good news, you didn’t break or dislocate your neck and you don’t have any tumors, but you still have headaches and neck pain. Next, they do an MRI of your neck and it comes out negative. Your MRI was negative because MRI looks at discs, but there are no discs in the upper 30 percent of your neck or in the back of your neck where your headaches and neck pain originate. So the doctor sends you home with some pain medication but no definitive diagnosis. Your pain persists but no one can tell you why, and the insurance company over time stops paying your medical bills because there is no proof of your injury.

If this scenario sounds all too familiar, you should have a digital motion x-ray of your cervical spine. Digital Motion X-Ray (DMX) uses advanced technology to detect ligament injuries that could never be seen before because of the lack of motion. Static x-rays, MRI and CT commonly miss injuries because you don’t or can’t move for the exam. Digital motion x-ray is just the opposite. It can find injuries that are evident only when you move. If your pain increases with movement, common sense tells you that your injuries should be examined “in motion.” If you are in pain after an accident and no one can tell you why, digital motion x-ray may hold the answer you are looking for.

Insurance companies will pay for the care you deserve as long as you are able to prove you are injured. Unfortunately, you will probably need care years into the future because these injuries are permanent.