Injured in a Car Accident or at Work?

As soon as you're able. Many collision injuries — whiplash, disc injuries, nerve irritation — don't produce their worst symptoms on day one. Adrenaline masks pain, and inflammation builds over the following days. Being evaluated early creates a clear medical record of what happened and when, and gets treatment started before compensation patterns set in. Most new patients are scheduled within three business days. Call (314) 733-5140.

Often, yes. An emergency room's job is to rule out life-threatening injury — fractures, bleeding, head trauma. It isn't designed to diagnose soft tissue injury, nerve damage, or spinal injury that develops over the weeks that follow. If you're still dealing with pain, stiffness, headaches, numbness, or tingling after an ER visit, that's exactly what Dr. Shekhani evaluates.

No. Delayed and persistent symptoms are common after a collision, and they're still evaluable and treatable. Dr. Shekhani regularly sees patients months after the original injury — including patients whose pain returned after they thought it had resolved.

No. You don't need an attorney to become a patient. Dr. Shekhani treats patients who are represented and patients who are not. Whether to hire an attorney is your decision — that's a legal question, not a medical one, and this practice does not give legal advice or recommend specific firms.

Report the injury to your employer as soon as possible and follow your employer's reporting process — workers' compensation claims generally require prompt notice. Who authorizes treatment from there depends on your employer's carrier and the specifics of your claim. Call (314) 733-5140 and the staff will walk you through what applies in your situation.

Call the office and explain where your claim stands. Authorization requirements vary by employer and carrier, so the staff will tell you what's possible in your specific case rather than guess at it over a web page.

An IME is an objective physician evaluation — usually requested by an employer, insurer, or attorney — to assess the nature and extent of an injury. It's an evaluation, not ongoing treatment, and it produces a documented medical opinion for the file. More about IMEs.

An electromyogram (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS) measure how well your nerves and muscles are actually working. If you have numbness, tingling, weakness, or pain that radiates down an arm or leg, these studies help identify whether a nerve is compressed or damaged — and where. Imaging shows structure; an EMG shows function. Dr. Shekhani performs these studies in the office. More about EMG and nerve conduction studies.

Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound produces real-time images of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints — and unlike a static scan, it can show those structures while you move. That makes it useful for evaluating soft tissue injury after a collision or a workplace incident. It's performed in the office, with no radiation. More about diagnostic ultrasound.

Injections are performed under image guidance rather than by landmark alone — either live ultrasound or fluoroscopy, depending on what's being treated. That guidance is what allows the medication to be placed at the actual source of the problem. Types performed include facet joint, epidural, nerve root, peripheral nerve, and joint injections. Whether an injection is appropriate is determined after evaluation and diagnostic testing, not before. More about image-guided injections.

Dr. Shekhani is a nonsurgical specialist. The focus is on identifying the actual source of the problem and treating it without surgery where that's possible — through injury rehabilitation, image-guided injections, and coordinated care with your other providers. If a condition does warrant a surgical opinion, he refers to orthopedic surgeons in the region.

Most patients can call directly. Some insurance plans do require a referral for specialist visits, so if you're unsure, call (314) 733-5140 and the staff will check before your appointment rather than have you find out at the front desk.

Yes, with your authorization. Dr. Shekhani routinely coordinates with primary care physicians so your injury care and your general medical care stay aligned instead of running on separate tracks with neither doctor seeing the whole picture.

Yes — and it's common. Chiropractic care and physician-level injury medicine are complementary, not competing. Dr. Shekhani works alongside chiropractors throughout North County and the greater St. Louis area, adding EMG and nerve conduction studies, diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, ultrasound- and fluoroscopy-guided injections where appropriate, and the medical documentation an injury case requires. Information for chiropractors and physical therapists.

Yes. Dr. Shekhani regularly treats patients who are represented, and the practice provides the records and reports attorneys need. Medical records requests are typically returned in under two business days. Information for attorneys · Request medical records.

A comprehensive evaluation: your history, how the injury happened, a physical examination, and a review of any imaging or records you bring. Dr. Shekhani will then discuss what he believes is driving your symptoms and what diagnostic testing or treatment makes sense. Bring photo ID, your insurance or claim information, any imaging you already have, and your attorney's name if you have one.