Treatment Of Whiplash After An Injury In An Accident You Cant Ignore It Get Better Asap
There are steps you can take to alleviate pain with exercises and other home remedies to get by, but dont expect to ever heal completely without professional medical care. Good luck getting over excruciating or nagging pain without seeing a doctor. The long term effects of whiplash are too impactful to ignore and the cure can be elusive.
Successfully treating the symptom means getting a crystal clear diagnosis of the injury.
Diagnosing back and neck pain after an accident
What causes back pain after an accident? Possibilities:
- Lumbar sprains. Caused by too much force on the back after getting rear-ended or a side impact collision. When ligaments, tendons and muscles overstretch they become sprained or strained.
- Disc herniation/slipped disc. Herniated discs occur when the soft filling of the spinal disc protrudes the outer casing. You may not feel much pain initially, but when the exposed filling comes in contact with surrounding nerves, theres plenty of pain.
- Spinal stenosis. The narrowing of the channel housing the spinal nerves & spinal cord. After an accident a disc or bone fragment can rupture and enter the spinal canal area. The nerves feel the pressure and you get acute pain.
- Facet joint injuries. The facet joint prevents the spine from moving too far in any direction. Damage to facet joints will cause spasms in certain directions depending on the affected area. Often confused with spinal disc issues.
Supporting Citations Literature & Resources:
Harrison, D. D., Harrison, S. O., Croft, A. C., Harrison, D. E., & Troyanovich, S. J. . Sitting biomechanics, part II: optimal car drivers seat and optimal drivers spinal model. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 23, 37-47.
About the Author
Article Author: This law article was written by attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire. Mr. Benyamin received his Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and his license to practice law from the State Bar of California. His law license number is 277263. He has been practicing law for 10 years. Mr. Benyamin is a registered member of the following legal organizations: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles , the Los Angeles County Bar Association , the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association , and the American Association for Justice . Mr. Benyamin has personally helped his clients recover over $10,000,000 dollars in vehicle accident insurance claims in the State of California.
Dont Settle Immediately And Get Help With Your Case
After going through an automobile, truck, or motorcycle accident, its understandable to want to move on with your life quickly. But even so, you shouldnt accept a settlement from an insurance company right away without talking to a lawyer first. Insurance companies dont make money by handing out generous settlements they make their profit by limiting them.
Will it be enough to cover all your medical treatment, for as long as needed? What about lost wages? Pain and suffering? The only way to make sure you get the compensation you need is to get the advice of a good lawyer, like the Oklahoma car accident attorneys at McIntyre Law.
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The Most Common Injuries With Delayed Symptoms
Dozens of people struggle with delayed pain from car accidents each day. While the most common injuries with delayed symptoms are physical, its important to realize that delayed car accident injuries can also be emotional. Emotional injuries like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are common examples of delayed emotional trauma that can emerge in the weeks following a crash.
Common injuries with delayed symptoms include:
Neck Pain Or Stiffness
In the case of car accidents, whiplash is one of the most often occurring conditions. The term whiplash refers to any strain that occurs as a result of being involved in a car accident. They are often the result of rear-end collisions. When you experience persistent whiplash following a car accident, you should schedule an X-Ray, MRI, or CT Scan to assist establish the source of the pain.
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What Spinal Conditions Can Whiplash Cause
Most of the time, the pain caused as a result of whiplash is as a result of soft tissue injury. However, if the accident is serious enough it can cause more serious spinal conditions like a herniated disc, advanced degenerative disc disease, fractures, stenosis and others.
Disc Herniation
A herniated disc occurs when the inner, gelatinous material of the spinal disc pushes out through the rigid outer layer. This can cause pain if the fluid starts to press up against the sensitive nerve roots that exit the spine.
Herniated discs typically occur in older patients who have experienced a lifetime of natural disc degeneration. However, they can also be caused when severe amounts of pressure have been exerted on the spinal discs often through a traumatic accident.
Symptoms of a herniated disc typically include:
- Severe pain in the neck
- Arm or leg pain
- Tingling, numbness or weakness in the extremities
Advanced Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease is a natural condition that affects just about every person with a spine. Its simply the process of your spinal discs wearing out over a lifetime of constant wear and tear.
Typically, degenerative disc disease never causes any pain and people will go their whole lives without ever knowing they have it.
However, in the case of a serious car accident, its possible that the spinal discs experienced a serious amount of damage and degeneration occurred at an increased rate.
Spinal Stenosis
Facet Joint Disease
Will My Whiplash Pain Go Away
In most cases, the pain from whiplash typically goes away after about 6 weeks. However, a vast majority of the pain should dissipate a couple of days after the accident as the soft tissues impacted begin to heal and inflammation dies down.
While painful, whiplash typically doesnt affect the vital nerves, bones or other structures located within the neck and pain can be reduced with ice, pain-relieving medication and rest.
Which means that the prognosis for victims of whiplash is often good, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
That said, about 12-50% of people still report experiencing symptoms, like headaches or neck pain, after a year and others will continue to exhibit symptoms the rest of their lives.
The amount of time that pain lasts is typically dependent on the seriousness of the accident, the amount of damage that was caused to the spine and soft tissues and whether or not you had any preexisting spinal conditions beforehand.
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When To See A Doctor About Your Pain
Ideally, you should see a doctor immediately after your car accident, even if you do not think you suffered serious injuries.
Your body goes through a great deal of trauma in a car accident. Sometimes, you may not even realize the severity of your injuries until well after the accident itself. Adrenaline can camouflage those injuries. You may even write signs of serious injury off as normal soreness after the accident.
An immediate visit to a doctor, whether you visit an emergency room or urgent care center, can help you identify any potential injuries and make sure that you have a care plan that will help you get the treatment you need.
On the other hand, sometimes, you may genuinely think that you did not sustain severe injuries in the accident. Its your call whether to wait to seek treatment, but if you have any of these signs and symptoms, you should see a doctor for a full evaluation:
Lower Back Pain Caused By Spinal Stenosis
The word stenosis in medicine means the abnormal narrowing of a body channel. Therefore, spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the bone channel that houses the spinal nerves and spinal cord. Natural aging most often causes spinal stenosis however, it can result from direct trauma such as from a car accident.
In these cases, a ruptured disc or bone fragment invades the spinal canal space, applying pressure to the nerves or cord and causing pain.
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Facet Joint Injuries In The Lumbar Spine After A Car Accident
The facets are the part of the lumbar spine bones that interlock and connect each vertebra. They help hold the spine upright. They also help the spine in combination with the discs to flex front to back and side to side. The facets come together to form a facet joint. The spinal nerves run through the facet joints. In addition, tiny nerves run along the surface of the facet joints. Over time, the facet joints can begin to show signs of wear and tear. In a car accident, the whiplash movement can cause facet joints to bang violently against each other. This movement can cause already worn facet joints to become inflamed and painful. The movement can also cause damage to the tiny nerve endings on the joints and cause pain. Facet joint pain in the lower back is often referred to as facet joint syndrome.
What To Do If You Have Back Pain After A Car Accident
You need to do several things if you notice back pain after a collision.
The very first thing you need to do is seek immediate medical attention.
An accident doctor like a chiropractor will diagnose your back pain and design a treatment plan to relieve your symptoms.
If you can’t make it to a doctor right away, try the following to reduce your back pain in the meantime:
The sooner you receive medical treatment, the better, so seek medical attention as quickly as possible after your crash.
Once you’ve been diagnosed and have a treatment plan from your doctor, it’s time to talk to an attorney near you who specializes in back injury cases.
Personal injury lawyers can help you deal with your insurance company or file a personal injury lawsuit.
Injury claims after motor vehicle crashes are often complicated and involve significant medical expenses, resulting in contested claims.
That’s why it’s vital to hire an experienced lawyer who can represent you.
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Common Back Injuries From A Car Accident
Following a collision, people often feel sore in one or more body parts. However, back pain after a car accident is common. Although some back injuries resolve themselves with rest, others cause ongoing discomfort or result in an inability to perform daily activity without pain.
Seeking immediate treatment after a car accident is essential. A physician can assess injuries and refer patients for follow-up care before the pain gets too severe. Some people initially feel okay and dont experience intense back pain until several days later. In Florida, you also have 14 days after an accident to seek accident care to qualify for coverage under your PIP insurance.
If left untreated, an injury can lead to chronic pain requiring an orthopedic diagnosis and treatment. Explore the causes and symptoms of common back injuries from a car accident while learning about potential treatment methods.
Gather Evidence From The Car Crash Scene
If the scene is safe and you are able, try to collect as much evidence from the area as possible. This should include videos and photos of your visible injuries, the cars involved in the crash, the weather conditions at the time of the accident, any skid marks on the road, traffic signs near the crash scene, and any other evidence that can help show what happened.
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Symptoms Of Back Injuries
Some people experience severe back pain or restricted mobility immediately after a crash. Others develop symptoms over days or even weeks . Back injuries typically cause one or more of the following symptoms:
- difficulty standing or walking.
Many people assume back pain will resolve on its own within a few days. But even minor back injuries have the potential to cause chronic pain and mobility limitations if left untreated.
Adrenaline And The Fight Or Flight Response
In addition to entering a state of shock, your body will also release the hormone adrenaline after a car accident. Adrenaline, referred to as the fight or flight chemical, is a system to keep you alive in what you perceive as a dangerous situation.
Adrenaline forces your body into self-preservation mode, which means it will physically shut down any systems that arent working to protect you. For instance, tissue repair is temporarily halted when adrenaline is pumping. Adrenaline masks personal injury and pain by limiting pain signals sent to and from the brain.
Adrenaline shifts your blood flow from your organs to your muscles. With more blood pumping into vulnerable muscles, youre likely to feel stronger and less aware of any injuries. This response is temporary and your adrenaline levels will likely return to normal within a few hours to one day.
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Morris Bart Llc Helps Car Accident Victims Seek Money Damages
The Morris Bart law firm provides complimentary consultations for traffic accident victims in the areas we serve: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. We have 16 locations in these four states and handle personal injury claims and lawsuits based on contingency.
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How Car Accident Injuries Occur
When your car impacts another vehicle, youre moving at the same speed as your car. If youre wearing a seatbelt, it prevents you from continuing to move when the car suddenly stops.
If youre unbelted at the time of impact, you continue moving until you collide with a steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, or a person in front of you that forces you to stop. The resulting impact causes injuries.
However, your bodys internal organs can continue to move forward even after your body comes to a complete stop. The forceful stop can cause your organs to collide with each other, resulting in internal damage.
The type of injury that occurs and the degree of pain you experience depend on the following factors:
Age: The younger you are, the more likely youll feel better faster.
Overall health: If you have pre-existing orthopedic injuries, being in a car accident can aggravate an existing issue and/or cause new ones. Some conditions, like diabetes or peripheral arterial disease, can slow healing.
Position in the vehicle: The type of injury you sustain depends on where you were seated in the vehicle and the direction of the crash impact .
Safety devices used: Safety devices such as seatbelts and airbags can reduce your risk of critical injuries, though these devices may cause bruises and soreness.
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What Should You Expect Physically And Mentally After Being In An Accident
Its not unusual to have psychological symptoms after a car accident. Most experience shock symptoms ranging from dilated pupils to nausea. If youre diagnosed with this condition at the accident scene, you may be taken to the hospital for treatment.
You may feel overwhelmed by what happened at the accident scene and by the emotional, physical, and legal consequences. Anxiety is typical, and depression can set in. Some people even develop post-traumatic stress disorder after a car accident.
These are serious conditions that shouldnt be dismissed. Seek help if youre experiencing any symptoms of anxiety, depression, or PTSD. You may also experience some physical symptoms after a car accident, and some dont show up right away. But even these delayed symptoms need to be taken very seriously.
What Causes Back Pain After A Car Accident
Back pain often occurs due to certain types of serious back injuries. Such injuries may include:
- Herniated disc The rubber-like cushions located in between the bones in the spine are called discs. When these discs are ruptured or injured, the soft, central portion can bulge out beyond the outer ring of the disc. This injury is also sometimes called a slipped disc, although that is not strictly accurate since the disc itself does not slip out of place.
- Soft tissue injury There are many muscles, tendons, and ligaments located in the back. Soft tissue injuries include strains, sprains, and other harm to those tissues.
- Bone fracture Bones in the back can be broken in a car accident, especially in high-speed, high-impact crashes. Depending on where the injury took place in the back and if the bone fracture was a complete break or partial break, serious back pain and long-term medical problems can occur.
- Spinal cord injury The spinal cord is protected by vertebrae bones in the spine. But all it takes is a serious accident to damage the spine, resulting in loss of mobility, nerve damage, and in severe cases, partial or total paralysis.
In each case, its critical that injury victims seek immediate medical attention. A back injury can have serious, long-term consequences. Make sure you have a doctor examine you right away and diagnose exactly whats wrong.
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What Should I Do If I Have Back Pain After A Car Accident
Car accidents are never expected.
They often occur at the worst times, and accident victims never feel right after the impact of a motor vehicle accident.
Sometimes injury symptoms are delayed, while other times the impact is hard enough that you feel it instantly.
One of the most common symptoms after an auto accident is back pain.
Back pain, like other soft tissue injuries, is very common.
However, back pain or a spinal injury does not have to de-rail your entire life.
In the article below, we will discuss what you should do if you notice back pain after a car wreck.
