Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease

A Comprehensive Guide to the Literature for Personal Injury Lawyers

Publisher: Medifocus Legal
Publication Date: March 6, 2024
Number of Pages: 129
The spine is a complex structure consisting of vertebrae and intervertebral discs that provide support, flexibility, and protection to the spinal cord and nerves. These intervertebral discs act as shock absorbers, cushioning the vertebrae and allowing for smooth movement of the spine. However, when subjected to trauma, such as the forces experienced during a motor vehicle accident, the discs can sustain damage leading to degeneration.

During a collision, the body experiences sudden and intense forces that can exceed the normal load-bearing capacity of the spine. This can result in compression, torsion, or shearing forces being exerted on the spine. Furthermore, trauma can also disrupt the balance of forces within the spine, leading to abnormal loading patterns on the vertebrae and discs. This can accelerate the degeneration process by causing uneven wear and tear on the discs, leading to the development of osteophytes or bone spurs, which further compromise the stability of the spine.

Studies have demonstrated that spinal trauma can also trigger inflammation in the tissues surrounding the intervertebral discs. Inflammation is known to play a role in the degeneration process of the spine by promoting the breakdown and repair of the extracellular matrix - a large network of proteins and other molecules that surround, support, and give structure to cells and tissues. Moreover, chronic inflammation resulting from trauma may contribute to progressive degeneration of the spine.

Proving legal causation in cases involving a claim of spinal disc degeneration resulting from trauma can be challenging due to the high prevalence of pre-existing disc degeneration in the adult general population. It's been estimated that by the age of 60, more than 90% of people will show evidence of some disc degeneration. Plaintiffs face the challenge of establishing a clear causal link between the trauma and the disc degeneration, while defendants will seek to undermine this connection by highlighting alternative explanations, such as normal age-related "wear and tear" for the degeneration. At this point, the outcome of these cases often hinges on a battle between opposing expert witnesses. Using peer-reviewed medical literature as a strong foundation to establish a causative link between the trauma and and the client's spinal disc degeneration may persuade the trier of fact to tip the scales in favor of the plaintiff's legal arguments.
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The MediFocus Literature Guide to Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease

We've searched the medical literature and compiled a comprehensive Guide to clinical and research studies published over the past two decades that focus on the role of trauma in the development of degenerative disc disease. This peer reviewed medical and scientific literature plays a crucial role when it comes to litigating cases involving a claim that trauma from an accident or a fall either directly caused or exacerbated spinal disc degeneration. Here's how:

1. **Establishing Causation** - Medical literature serves as a foundation for building strong and persuasive legal arguments for establishing a causal link between trauma and intervertebral disc degeneration.

2. **Expert Testimony** - Arm your experts ahead of trial with the relevant literature regarding the relationship between trauma and spinal disc degeneration. Armed with this literature, your experts can bolster their testimony and gain credibility. They can also interpret the findings of relevant published studies and explain them in a way that is more accessible to juries and judges.

3. **Rebutting Opposing Claims** - Medical and scientific literature can be an effective weapon to counter opposing arguments and claims made by the opposing party. For example, if the defense argues that a client's spinal disc degeneration was not caused by trauma but rather normal age-related factors, the plaintiff's legal team may overcome this argument by presenting studies from the literature demonstrating the impact of trauma on disc degeneration.

4. **Supporting Damages Claims** - In cases where trauma-induced spinal disc degeneration leads to physical impairment or disability, medical literature can be used to support claims for damages by providing evidence of the severity and long-term effects of the condition.

The MediFocus Literature Guide to Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease is a comprehensive reference guide to the medical literature that is designed to help personal injury lawyers develop an in-depth understanding of role that trauma plays in the development or exacerbation of disc degeneration. This objective is accomplished by a thorough review of the peer-reviewed medical literature published over the past 15 years as documented from case reports, cohort studies, and major topical review articles.

The MediFocus Literature Guide to Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease is available both as a soft-cover book and as a PDF download. Order your copy today. Please see the side panel for more information.Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease is a one-of-a-kind literature reference Guide that includes:

• A comprehensive bibliography of 169 journal article references indexed in MEDLINE published in well respected medical and scientific journals.
• Online access to the abstracts (summaries) of the articles.
• Online access to the free full-text version of 44 articles.
• Links to full-text sources of other articles that are available for purchase directly from individual journal publishers.
• A unique "Author Directory" consisting of the names and institutional affiliations of experts who have published and have specialized knowledge about Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease. The "Author Directory" is a valuable resource for quickly identifying and locating experts for case reviews, opinions, and testimony.

Select examples of topics that are covered by the articles referenced in this Guidebook include:

• Fundamentals of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.
• Is Preexisting Cervical Disk Degeneration a Prognostic Factor in Whiplash-associated Disorders?
• Morphological changes in the human cervical intervertebral disc post trauma.
• Acute mechanical injury of the human intervertebral disc: link to degeneration and pain.
• Neck and back pain and intervertebral disc degeneration: role of occupational factors.
• ACC and back injuries: the relevance of pre-existing asymptomatic conditions revisited.
• The role of back injury or trauma in lumbar disc degeneration: an exposure-discordant twin study.
• Dynamic bulging of intervertebral discs in the degenerative lumbar spine.
• Degenerative and traumatic changes in the lower cervical spine facet joints.
• Morphological cervical disc analysis applied to traumatic and degenerative lesions.
• Trauma induces apoptosis in human thoracolumbar intervertebral discs.
• Injury mechanisms of the cervical intervertebral disc during simulated whiplash.
• Biomechanics of the cervical spine: minor injuries.
• A cross-sectional study correlating lumbar spine degeneration with disability and pain.
• MR imaging of the spine: trauma and degenerative disease.
• Histologic changes in the disc after cervical spine trauma: evidence of disc absorption.
• Radiological case of the month. Post-traumatic degenerative change of the cervical spine.
• Premature onset of degenerative disease of the cervical spine in rugby players.
• The prognosis of neck injuries resulting from rear-end vehicle collisions.
• Differences in clinical outcomes between traumatic cervical myelopathy and degenerative cervical myelopathy.

The MediFocus Literature Guide on Trauma and Degenerative Disc Disease is available in two formats:
PDF Format (available for immediate download to your computer) List Price: $ 134.95 Less Discount: $ 65.00 Your Discounted Price: $ 69.95	Soft-Cover Book (includes free PDF download plus free shipping in United States) List Price: $ 164.95 Less Discount: $ 65.00 Your Discounted Price: $ 99.95
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