Injuries We See from Auto Accidents
Rear-end collision
Whiplash – One of the most common accidents is a rear-end collision. The number one problem that results from this type of car accident is neck issues from whiplash. It makes sense based on human anatomy and the physics of a car accident.
When a car is hit from the rear, the car is thrust forward, and the car seat pushes the occupant forward as well. But since the head is not in contact with the seat that had remained stationary, it causes a shearing action in the neck while the body is pushed forward.
As soon as the head reaches its maximum rearward position, it can whip forward at a force up to five times greater than the collision force itself. The neck’s whipping motion can be accelerated if a seat belt is used, worsening the injury.
The purpose of spinal ligaments is to protect your spine from moving further than it’s safe. Whiplash forces the neck through excessive motion. It’s not designed to endure such extremes. Spinal nerves and disks can become damaged, and spinal bones can be pulled out of their normal position, causing irritation and injury to delicate spinal nerve roots.
This overextension of the spine causes inflammation resulting in pain, swelling, and excessive scar tissue formation. Overextension causes your neck to become stiffer, more prone to arthritis, and more susceptible to reinjury even during everyday activities.
Whiplash can be dangerous because of damage to the soft tissues. Soft tissues are muscles, ligaments, discs, and body parts other than bones. You need to understand that most soft tissue injuries do not show up during emergency room exams or x-rays.
X-rays reveal broken bones, but soft tissue injuries routinely go undetected. The accident victim is given some pain pills or a neck collar and then released with no attention given to the soft tissue injuries. Ignoring injuries to your ligaments, muscles, and discs could lead to pain, stiffness, loss of motion, and arthritis.
Chiropractic treatment is the most effective pain management solution for whiplash injuries. It is essential to have your spine checked for soft tissue injuries as soon as possible after an accident. Without treatment, these soft tissue injuries can lead to excessive scar tissue formation and long-term pain, stiffness, arthritis, and disability.
A Chiropractic examination will find soft tissue injuries that often get overlooked after a car accident. The goal of chiropractic treatment is to help your body heal correctly, prevent the formation of scar tissue, reduce the incidence of chronic pain and stiffness, and delay or prevent the onset of arthritis.
For the best chance at a full recovery from your whiplash injuries, you should begin Chiropractic treatment as soon as possible after an accident.
Brain injury – The intense energy towards your head can also lead to a concussion or mild or even traumatic brain injury, depending on the car accident’s force. As the neck is being jerked forward and backward during a car accident, the skull is too. Your brain is sitting inside your skull, getting slammed into the walls in the internal cavity.
Headaches, concussive type symptoms, brain fog, problems concentrating or focusing, and sensitivity to light or sound are all possible outcomes.
Mid Back Injury – The middle of your back can also be injured in a rear-end collision. As the muscles stretch from the skull base, the force can go to your mid-back and trapezius muscles and put your spine out of alignment.
Chest and Rib injury – You can have injuries to your chest from the seat belt’s shoulder harness, causing bruising to the ribs.
Lower back – Further injury can occur as the accident’s force works its way down to the lower back. The lower back should have a curve, just like your neck. That curve can be flattened as the car seat comes into your lower back, compresses that area, and causes lower back pain.
Sciatica – Besides the lower back, you can also get a sciatica condition, causing numbness, tingling, weakness, and pain in the legs.
Extremity joints – When holding the steering wheel, wrist pain, hand pain, and elbow pain can develop from getting jammed into the steering wheel. If the car is again being pushed, it will compress the steering wheel into the body.
Another possible injury is with your feet on the floorboard or on the gas or brake, which can cause an ankle or foot problem. You can also have problems with your knees if they collide with the underside of the dashboard.
Front end collision
Instead of being thrown backward as in a rear-end collision, the body is thrown violently forward, hyper flexing your neck and back. If the force is great enough, it may send your head into the steering wheel, causing head injuries.
Head-on collisions are usually the worst kind because they involve so much g-force that your chance of survival goes down if both cars are going at a speed rate over 40. It’s like driving off of a five-story building, so the impact is going to be severe. The kind of injuries that can happen range from minor to major or even death.
Damages to your neck and spine will be similar to a rear-end collision, but since the force is likely to be much more, the injuries will also be more severe.
A front-end collision often happens when one driver veers into the other lane, raising litigation issues about who is a fault. Accident investigators can usually tell from signs at the scene what happened.
Side impact car crashes – according to accident researchers, side impacts can have a more devastating effect on a vehicle’s occupants than all other types of car accidents. Even at speeds as low as 18-20 mph, side impacts regularly cause serious injuries.
Contact Prime Medical Accident Injury
If you are ever involved in an accident, whether it’s a car or motorcycle accident, work injury, or a slip and fall accident, please contact us as soon as possible. In addition to medical and chiropractic care, we will provide professional documentation of your injuries. We can help you be fairly compensated for the medical bills and pain and suffering you have from your accident injuries.
Call (602)249-4508 today to schedule an immediate appointment after your accident.