Dr. John Edwards on Ligament Injuries and Care

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Dr. John Edwards discusses the impact of ligament injuries and the necessity of chiropractor involvement post-accident for effective personal injury recovery.

In this episode of the PIERS Association Podcast, host Roxy Cross sits down with Dr. John Edwards, neurosurgeon at Summit Brain Spine and Orthopedics in Utah County, to talk about the crucial—but often misunderstood—intersection of personal injury, neurosurgery, and chiropractic care.

Dr. Edwards shares how, early in his training, he learned almost nothing about chiropractic and virtually nothing about personal injury—other than a brief warning about vertebral artery injuries. Over the last decade, though, his perspective has transformed. He now sees PI as a highly specialized area of medicine, and chiropractic as a central, necessary role in managing ligamentous and non-surgical spine injuries.

In this conversation, Roxy and Dr. Edwards explore:
Why many PI patients are told “you’re fine” when their CT/MRI is normal—yet their lives are clearly not
How ligament injuries and whiplash-associated disorders can be profoundly disabling without showing up as fractures or obvious surgical problems
The difference between structural injuries (fractures, cord contusions, vertebral artery occlusions) and subtle but life-altering ligament damage
How the body reacts to ligament injury with muscle spasm and guarding—and how that can drive chronic pain
Why Dr. Edwards believes ligament injury is often the starting point of degenerative spine conditions over time
The emerging role of dynamic X-ray plus AI and specialized software to objectively grade ligament damage at specific spinal levels
Why interdisciplinary care (chiropractic, PT, injections, nutrition, neurosurgery, and more) is essential for PI patients
How chiropractors can—and should—serve as the “quarterbacks” of personal injury care, coordinating the right team around each patient
Dr. Edwards also offers practical advice for newly injured patients: find a qualified chiropractor who understands ligament injury, root-cause analysis, and collaborative care—someone who can guide the process from initial workup through full functional recovery.

At its core, this episode is about closing the gap between “no surgery needed” and “you’re fine,” and recognizing the very real, often invisible injuries that change patients’ lives long after the crash.