A car accident may leave you with many injuries aside from enough trauma to your emotional well-being. Car accident injuries may have long-term health consequences if not properly treated promptly. As such, you should not dismiss any injury following a car accident, whether you feel okay or not.
With a Brooklyn Park auto injury specialist, it is easy to determine the extent of damage you may have incurred after a car crash and then recommend prompt treatment to save your life. The following discussion will discuss five common injuries one may encounter after a car accident.
Concussions
A concussion occurs when you get a blow to your head, and your brain gets a violent shake that results in an injury. Usually, your brain will come into contact with your skull as a resulting injury after a vehicle suddenly slows down from crashing into another vehicle.
You may get thrown forward violently, which then causes your brain to slam into your skull rapidly. Common concussion symptoms include dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, confusion, slurred speech, lightheadedness, and blurred vision.
Joint Dislocations
Joints and bones meet throughout your body, but the impact of a car accident may force your bones out of place, causing a dislocation. Common joints that may dislocate during a car accident include your shoulders, wrists, elbows, hips, ankles, and knees. You may experience significant pain following a dislocation and may even be unable to move the affected body parts. Bruising and swelling may also occur around the dislocated joint. A dislocation will require emergency treatment to return the dislocated joints to their correct position and reduce pain.
Whiplash
You develop whiplash when you injure your neck from a forceful and rapid movement of your neck back and forth. Your symptoms may develop within days following the car accident and may cause symptoms including neck stiffness and pain and neck pain that worsens with movement. You may also have headaches, loss of range of motion in your neck, dizziness, and fatigue.
Sprains and Strains
After a car accident, you will likely develop strains and sprains, which are injuries to your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. A car crash may force your joint to bend beyond its normal range of motion, and the tissues that stabilize it may suffer damage. A sprain occurs when you develop an injury to your ligaments, the connective tissues from your bone to a joint. On the other hand, a strain affects tendons, tissues attaching your muscles to bone.
Herniated Disc
A herniated disc arises when the force of a car crash causes your spinal bones to push into the spinal canal and compress and irritate your spinal cord. You may experience back pain, muscle weakness, numbness, and a tingling sensation at the hernia site. Without proper treatment, a herniated disc may lead to chronic pain and disability if you have a damaged spinal cord.
Every year, several reports of car accidents cause many injuries that begin from the head up to the legs. Fractures, concussions, dislocations, herniated discs, whiplash, and sprains and strains are injuries you can sustain after a car accident.
While some injuries may not show immediate symptoms, seeing your doctor for an emergency evaluation and treatment is still necessary. Early treatment can save you from chronic pain and long-term health complications resulting from improper treatment after an accident.
