Do Trauma Patients Need To Heal Mentally As Well As Physically?

Dr. Cannada explains if trauma patients need to heal mentally in addition to healing physically.

Dr. Cannada:
It’s very important to realize that after a car accident or a trauma there’s a high rate of post-traumatic stress. The rates are up to as high as 49 percent in female patients. So they might have difficulty getting in a car and driving to do their activities of daily living, to bring their kids to hockey practice.

So it’s really important that it’s not, you should never take a don’t ask - don’t tell attitude with a trauma patient because no matter how minor the trauma is it is disruptive to their life and until you have experienced a trauma you don’t realize that. So it’s really important that we ask our patients how they are doing mentally not just how they are doing physically after trauma.

About Dr. Cannada, M.D.:
Dr. Lisa K. Cannada, M.D., is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon with an extensive background in teaching and orthopaedic trauma surgery. She completed her medical school at University of Maryland in 1996 and entered her residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland. She came back to Maryland for her trauma fellowship at the RA Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Maryland.

She worked at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia for three years before accepting a position at the University of Texas-Southwestern. She truly loves her career as an orthopaedic trauma surgeon and is a strong advocate for Women in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Visit Doctor Cannada at Saint Louis University