People who have lived with a curve since childhood often have the most complete spine history of anyone who walks into an injury exam, and the least access to it. The films are real. They are just in a hospital system you left twenty years ago, on a disc in a drawer, or described in a letter a parent kept. After a crash, some of that history becomes suddenly useful. This dispatch is about gathering enough of it, fast enough, without letting the search delay the exam.

Why old films matter after a crash

An examiner after a crash is trying to separate two things: what your spine was like before, and what the crash did. For most people, "before" is a guess. For you, it may be written down with a date and a number of degrees. The record explains why a baseline matters so much for a spine with history. A recent report with a Cobb angle, a date and a direction can save an examiner a great deal of reasoning backward.

That said, the exam does not wait for the films. If the search takes two weeks, have the exam this week and bring the films to a later visit.

What to look for, in order of usefulness

  1. The most recent report. A written radiology report or clinic note with a date, a description of the curve and a measurement. This single page is worth more than a stack of older images.
  2. The most recent images. The actual films, usually as a digital file or a disc, so a clinician can look for themselves.
  3. Any surgical or bracing history. Operative reports, brace prescriptions, the name of the surgeon or orthopedic practice, and the years.
  4. The oldest report you can find. Useful for the long view, less urgent for the crash.

Where the films usually live

Think back to who followed the curve, and when.

  • A pediatric orthopedic clinic. Many people in the St. Louis area who were followed as children were seen at a children's hospital, such as St. Louis Children's Hospital or Shriners Children's St. Louis. Ask for the hospital's medical records or health information department, not the clinic's scheduling line.
  • An adult orthopedic or spine practice. If you were seen as an adult, the practice or the imaging center it used will hold the report.
  • A primary care office. Often keeps copies of reports that were sent to it, even when it did not order the films.
  • A patient portal. Many health systems post radiology reports online, sometimes going back years. Log in before you request anything by phone.
  • Your own drawer. Discs, printouts and letters. Look there before you call anyone.

How to ask

You generally have a right to copies of your own health records under the federal HIPAA privacy rule, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explains on hhs.gov. Providers usually have up to 30 days to respond, and can take longer in some circumstances, so ask early and ask specifically. A request for "all my records" is slow. A request for "the radiology report and images from my most recent scoliosis film" is much faster.

When you call or fill out a form, have ready:

  • Your full name as it was then, if it has changed, and your date of birth.
  • The approximate years you were seen.
  • Exactly what you want: the report, the images, or both.
  • How you want them: portal, electronic file, disc or paper.

Ask whether there is a fee and how long it will take, and write down the date you asked.

If the films are gone

Sometimes they are. Records are destroyed after retention periods end, practices close, and health systems merge. If you cannot find anything, you are still not starting from nothing. Write down what you remember: roughly how old you were when the curve was found, whether you wore a brace and for how long, whether surgery was ever discussed, and roughly what number you were told. Say plainly at the exam that it is memory, not a report. A good examiner works with what you have, and tells you what else would help.

Bring it to the exam this week

On the day, bring the most recent report you have, your own notes about the crash, and a short list of what feels different since. Different, not just worse. Getting seen covers the call itself.

Missouri Injury Clinic, run by Joseph L. Hollingsworth, DC, takes auto-injury patients at three offices: O'Fallon at 2163 West Terra Lane, (636) 280-0990, open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9 to 6 with Wednesday and Friday by appointment; Hazelwood at 14 Village Square Shop Ctr, (314) 627-1411; and 11144 Tesson Ferry Road in south county, (314) 530-5480. Hazelwood and Tesson Ferry are open Monday through Thursday 9 to 6 and Friday 9 to noon. Every office closes from 12 to 2. When you call, say auto injury and say scoliosis.

Get the exam on the calendar

Once the crash is behind you, keep the copies you gathered. The folder you build this week is the baseline the next person to examine you will be glad you kept.

The bright line. Chest pain, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, a loss of bowel or bladder control, or a head injury with vomiting or worsening confusion is an emergency room trip right now, not a call to a clinic.