Healing of your body after an accident can be long and painful. If you have injured yourself during a car or motorcycle accident, you are facing the frustration of recovering from your injuries while also dealing with pain.
Your chiropractor in personal injury chiropractor in San Diego can recommend treatment options that will bring relief to your body aches and pain.
Also, teach about possible injuries that may lie ahead in your recovery process, including muscle strain, nerve damage and ligament tear. So continues reading the article to know the complete details of whiplash after an accident.
What Causes Body Aches after a Car or Motorcycle Accident?
Several different injuries can cause body aches. Whiplash is one of the most common causes, which causes muscle strain and ligament damage.
This type of injury happens when you’re suddenly jerked backward or forward violently in a car or motorcycle accident, causing your body to move against its own weight for an extended period (as long as 30 seconds).
The result is that the muscles around your neck are forced into new positions during the whiplash event and may cause inflammation in those tissues over time.
What Are The Conditions That May Occur Whiplash After Accident?
1. Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains are common injuries after a car accident. A sprain is an injury to your joints’ ligaments, tendons or cartilage.
Strains are tears in muscle tissue that can lead to pain and swelling. Both sprains and strains can occur in any part of the body, including your spine, neck, back and leg muscles.
If you have pain, swelling, or bruising on one side of your body for more than 24 hours after an injury, you may have a sprain or strain.
2. Whiplash Injury
Whiplash is a type of neck injury caused by a quick head-jerking motion. This can happen in many ways, but car accidents or motorcycle crashes cause it most commonly.
Whiplash injuries are common after a car accident because they involve rapid deceleration followed by rapid acceleration. The same thing happens when you jump out of your seat during an unexpected stoplight emergency.
3. Fractured Vertebrae
A fractured vertebra is a serious injury that can occur after a car accident or motorcycle crash. If the vertebrae in your neck are fractured, it can cause intense pain and difficulty moving. The severity of this injury will depend on how severe the impact was and whether there were any other injuries involved with your crash.
Suppose you have suffered from a fractured vertebra. In that case, you need to seek medical attention immediately so that doctors can properly diagnose this condition and make sure that proper treatment options will be available for healing as quickly as possible.
4. Spinal Disc Injury
A spinal disc injury is a serious injury that can cause pain and tenderness in the back and neck. Spinal discs are located between each vertebra (bones).
Injuries to these discs may occur when there is a sudden jolt, force, or weight on the body. The most common symptom of a spinal disc injury is pain that radiates from your lower back into your hips and legs.
5. Facet Joint Injury
Facet joint injuries occur when the facet joints of your neck are twisted or contorted in an unnatural position. This can result from a car accident, motorcycle accident, or other trauma to the head and neck region.
Symptoms of Facet Joint Injuries:
- Numbness around the shoulder area
- Pain that feels like you have been hit by something hard (like a baseball bat) or like someone has punched you in the back of your head/neck area
- Tenderness on either side of the injured area; feel like something is under tension with pressing down on it
6. Seat Belt Injury
Injury from a seatbelt can be serious, even fatal. You need to get medical help as quickly as you can if you’ve been hurt in an automobile accident.
Although seat belts are intended to keep you safe in a car collision, improper use of them can result in injuries. The seat belt itself needs to be worn properly at all times.
7. Airbag Injury
The airbag cushions the body from hitting the steering wheel or dashboard. Sitting too close to the steering wheel may cause injury if your head strikes it. It would help if you sat at least 10 inches from any part of the steering wheel on all sides of where you will be driving (the distance between your elbow and wrist).
8. Contusions and Lacerations
Contusions and lacerations are injuries that can result from car or motorcycle accidents. They are caused by a blow to the body, which causes bruising and swelling. The skin may become discolored due to blood pooling under the surface of your skin and pressure on nerve endings.
Contusions develop when blunt force trauma to soft tissue such as muscles, tendons and ligaments; sharp force trauma can cause deeper injuries such as bone fractures, lacerations and avulsions (the separation of tissues).
Lacerations are tears in muscle tissue caused by tension during movement or impact with another object, like glass windshields in collisions between cars or motorcycles; avulsions occur when hairline fractures occur along joints where two bones meet each other at their edges.
How Long After an Accident Should You Feel Pain?
If the accident was relatively minor and you have only minor injuries, then your body may feel sore for only a few days. This is especially true if your injuries do not include broken bones or other serious injuries.
On the other hand, if your accident involved head trauma from being hit by another car or motorcycle and resulted in whiplash or neck pain that lasts longer than 3-4 weeks (or even longer), then you may experience ongoing pain from those issues as well.
Should You See a Doctor for Muscle Pain?
If you’re experiencing severe pain after a car accident, it may be time to see a doctor. While it’s possible to have muscle soreness from minor injuries and overuse, severe pain can signify something more serious.
If you have severe neck pain or can’t move your neck for several hours after an accident, this could indicate something wrong with your spinal cord or nerves in that area—and if left untreated, these problems could become permanent.
What Can You Do At Home To Help Alleviate Your Pain?
The first thing you can do is rest. If your body aches are severe, it’s important to take off work and stay home until they subside. You may also want to consider taking some time off if you have an injury or are recovering from surgery.
Another option is icing the area that hurts most—but only if it’s safe for you. Ice packs, water bottles filled with ice cubes wrapped in towels or cloths, hot water bottles filled with hot water (not boiling) wrapped in towels/cloths—all work well! Do not apply ice directly on the skin; use an approved method such as these instead!
How Can San Diego Car Accident Chiropractor Care Help Ease Pain and Restore Function?
Personal Injury Chiropractor in San Diego care is a safe and effective way to treat body aches. Chiropractors evaluate your condition, prescribe the right treatment, and help you get back to normal life.
Chiropractic treatment can help restore function by removing spinal misalignments which may be causing pain or discomfort.
This restores healthy alignment from within the spine, which often leads to an improvement in muscle strength and decreased stress on joints that are already too tight due to poor posture over time (such as knees).
If you suffer from chronic pain or have been experiencing unusual swelling in one area of your body since the accident, chiropractic care may relieve both issues!
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- San Diego Auto Injury Center | 7822 Convoy Court | San Diego ca 92111