When “Normal” Scans Don’t Match Your Pain
After a car accident, many patients in South Miami, South Florida, and Central Florida experience lingering symptoms neck pain, headaches, dizziness, or numbness long after they’ve been told their X-rays or MRI look “normal.”
This frustrating disconnect is common. Whiplash often injures the ligaments of the cervical spine, creating subtle instability that standard imaging can’t detect.
That’s why more and more patients across Florida, the U.S., and internationally from Central and South America and the Caribbean are turning to Digital Motion X-Ray (DMX) at DMX Miami to get the real answers that static imaging misses.
How Whiplash Injures the Cervical Ligaments
During a car accident, especially a rear-end collision, the head and neck are forced into a rapid back-and-forth motion. Even at low speeds, this can:
- Overstretch or tear cervical ligaments
- Create subtle instability between vertebrae
- Irritate or compress nerves and blood vessels
- Trigger pain and neurological symptoms that may last months or years
While bones and discs may appear normal, ligament damage is often invisible on standard imaging but it can be the real reason symptoms persist.
Why Standard Imaging Misses Post-Accident Instability
Emergency rooms and urgent care centers typically use:
- X-rays to check for fractures
- MRIs to evaluate discs and nerves
- CT scans in severe cases
But these tests are taken while the patient is lying still. They don’t show what happens when the neck moves which is often when symptoms are triggered.
This is why so many whiplash patients are told, “We can’t find anything wrong,” while they continue to suffer from real, disabling pain.
What Digital Motion X-Ray (DMX) Can Reveal
Digital Motion X-Ray is a cutting-edge imaging tool that uses real-time fluoroscopy to record the neck in motion. This allows us to see:
- Alar and transverse ligament laxity
- Excessive vertebral movement after whiplash
- Instability at the C0–C2 and mid-cervical levels
- Subtle dysfunction that matches the patient’s symptoms
For many patients, DMX is the first test that actually explains their pain.
Common Whiplash Symptoms Linked to Ligament Instability
If you’ve experienced a car accident, you may recognize some of these symptoms:
- Persistent neck pain that worsens with movement or lying down
- Headaches, especially at the base of the skull
- Brain fog, lightheadedness, or dizziness
- Shoulder or arm pain radiating from the neck
- Clicking, grinding, or a feeling of “instability” in the neck
- Fatigue, eye strain, or concentration problems
These symptoms are often not caused by herniated discs or fractures, but by unstable ligaments.
Why Florida Is Becoming a Destination for DMX
Our clinic in South Miami has become a regional and international referral center for accident patients who can’t get answers elsewhere.
Patients travel from Central Florida, across the U.S., and from Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and the Caribbean because:
- DMX identifies instability that other scans miss.
- Reports are precise and used by physicians, chiropractors, and legal teams.
- We offer bilingual care in English and Spanish.
- We provide a clear, visual explanation of what’s causing symptoms.
Why Early Diagnosis Matters After an Accident
Ligament injuries don’t heal the same way bones do. If instability is left untreated, it can lead to:
- Chronic neck pain
- Degenerative changes
- Neurological complications
- Postural adaptations that worsen symptoms
Identifying ligament damage early with DMX gives patients and their doctors the information needed to create an effective treatment or rehabilitation plan.
The First Step Toward Recovery
If you’re still in pain after an accident and your scans have come back “normal,” don’t accept a vague diagnosis. The real cause may be hidden in your cervical ligaments and Digital Motion X-Ray at DMX Miami can reveal it.
Patients from South Miami, South Florida, Central Florida, across the U.S., and throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean trust DMX to help them finally get answers.
Learn more: Treatment
Schedule your appointment today: Appointments
Call 305-275-7475 or book your appointment online
Dr. Rodolfo Alfonso, D.C.
Dr. Mark N. Berry, D.C.
Sunset Chiropractic and Wellness
8585 Sunset Dr. STE 102
Miami, Florida 33143