The Most Common Injuries After a Car Accident

Posted on January 31, 2023

After a car accident, your body's fight or flight response activates around the time your airbag deflates. You might fleetingly feel all right upon conducting a self-check to rule out injury. After an accident, you may not think about your physical health as you focus on the responsibilities at hand.

However, even a minor accident can cause your body to experience substantial force. You may have incurred internal injuries that are out of sight. You may even go for days or weeks without noticing anything off. However, these underlying injuries may be severe and become persistent if left untreated.

Common Car Accident Injuries

Whiplash

The most frequent accident injury, whiplash, can occur in mild or significant incidents, particularly in rear-end crashes where the force is unexpected. Your head snaps backward from the energy of collision when another car hits you.

The tendons and muscles of the upper neck and back are strained by the rapid forward and backward movement. After, you may have generalized discomfort in your back or neck area, neck pain, headaches, tingling, or blurred vision.

Fractures

Most often, major, high-speed hits result in fractures. As the car absorbs the impact, the energy of the collision will distort it. Under pressure, the framework will twist or collapse, possibly contacting your legs, arms, and other body parts.

Your ribcage could experience such strong constriction that your ribs break. For the best results, fractures require specialized orthopedic care. A misaligned fracture may result in functional impairment and lifetime suffering. Anyone in this state must be stabilized by emergency services.

Concussion

Contrary to popular opinion, a concussion does not always include a head injury. In situations like whiplash, such as when the force of the vehicle crash causes your head to jolt back and forth, a concussion may also happen.

The accident's effect on the brain causes concerns related to concussions. The mildest kind of traumatic brain injury is a concussion. It is because quick movements of the head and neck can force the brain to shift, harming brain cells and impairing brain-to-body communication.

Since it takes the body some time to process the impact, symptoms of the concussion can delay.

Joint Dislocations

Dislocations can occasionally occur due to an injury's severity and location of contact with the body. Because of the sudden jolt on the upper body, shoulder and elbow dislocations are the most frequent. A dislocated joint will typically cause instant and severe pain. Nevertheless, a shoulder or other joint dislocation might not always be immediately apparent in certain circumstances.

Disc Herniation

The powerful impact of a car collision can severely stress your spinal column. It can occur as your back muscles contract and try to keep you upright, and your neck moves unnaturally.

A disc may move out of position or press on a nerve due to significant stress on the spine. The lumbar spine, usually referred to as the lower back, is where herniated discs from auto accidents most frequently occur.

For more about the most common injuries after a car accident, visit Accident and Injury Chiropractic at our office in Tacoma, Washington. Call (253) 215-8350 to book an appointment today.