The month of September has been designated National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. Statistically, there are 17,000 new cases of spinal cord injuries each year, according to the United Spinal Association. The leading cause of injuries is vehicle crashes, followed by falls, acts of violence, and sports/recreation activities. Evan M. Packer, MD, FACS, FAANS, one of Palm Beach County’s most respected neurosurgeons, regularly diagnoses and treats a wide range of neurological conditions, including brain, neck and spinal injuries. 
A managing partner at the Brain and Spine Center South Florida, located in Delray Beach, Packer has extensive clinical training and experience in the latest treatments for trauma and elective surgical patients. In addition to his office practice, Dr. Packer treats patients and covers trauma cases at Delray Medical Center and performs elective surgery cases at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, with full privileges at the new Marcus Neuroscience Institute. He is available to share his expertise on recognizing the emergency signs and symptoms of a spinal cord injury after an accident. These may include extreme back pain or pressure in the neck, weakness or paralysis in any part of the body, or numbness and tingling in the hands, fingers, feet or toes.
Dr. Packer is also a firm believer in exploring every treatment option before recommending surgery. To that end, he is willing to explain the various types of technologies used to diagnose spinal cord injuries, including X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
To learn more about Dr. Packer, visit www.evanpackermd.com.
