What to Expect Physically After a Car Accident

nt to he

SCY ST

TISTIC? The N

tion

l High

y T

ffic S

fety

dminist

tion (NHTS

)<

h

ef="https:

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n.nhts

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bles

tsf

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get=”_bl

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el=”noopene

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“> estim

tes mo

e th

n 2,000,000 people get inju

ed > in c

ccidents

c

oss the n

tion EVE

Y YE

. Th

t is

lot of hu

ting people. Of cou

se, inju

ies sust

ined in

c

ccident c

n nge f

om mino

bumps

nd b

uises to c

t

st

ophic

nd f

t

l tum

. M

ny of those inju

ies HU

T

IGHT

Y. But some do not. In f

ct, I’ve

ep

esented lots of clients

ith inju

ies th

t don’t sho full nge of symptoms until d

ys,

eeks o

even months

ften

ccident. Needless to s

y, those clients f

ce some

E

L

ND F

UST

TING ch

llenges

hen it comes to kno

ing

h

t to expect

s they he

l

nd

ecove

.

To sho

you

h

t I me

n, he

e e some common c

ccident inju

y symptoms you might expect, potenti

l c

uses fo

those symptoms,

nd ho

they might influence you

long-te

m

ell-being (

nd

ny c

ccident l

suit you might file). Fo

mo

e specific info

m

tion

bout you

c

se its

l

ys

good ide

to consult

n expe

ienced <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

–

ccident-lye

/”>c

ccident

tto

ney<>.

Physic

l Symptoms Commonly

ssoci

ted

ith C

ccidents

C

ccidents e the ONG Y to get

n

d

en

line

ush. Th

t being s

id, in the moments

ften

ccident,

pe

son’s “fight o

flight”

esponse

lmost

l

ys kicks into high ge

. Th

t su

ge of

d

en

line

nd othe

neu

ochemic

ls often dulls p

in

nd imp

i

s long-te

m

e

soning. This is

ecipe fo

m

king b

d decisions

bout you

medic

l condition

nd needs. Even if you

o

k in medicine, you e

lso hum

n,

hich me

ns you likely c

nnot m

ke sound choices

bout you

physic

l condition in the moments

nd d

ys

fte c

ccident. So, don’t t

y. Let someone

ho is

medic

l p

ofession

l,

nd

ho definitely h

s not just been in

c

c

sh, check you out fo

ny of the follo

ing signs

nd symptoms of inju

y:

Shouldend Neck P

in

It is EXT

EMELY common fo

c

ccident victims to feel shouldend neck p

in in the hou

s

nd d

ys

fte

d. C

ccidents e the most common c

use of se

ious neck inju

y, soft tissue inju

ies th

t c

n occuhen

pe

son’s neck flexes

nd extends upon imp

ct in

c

ccident.

hile neck p

in follo

ing

collision m

y seem like

minoche, it c

n

lso le

d to signific

nt long-te

m p

in conditions if not t

e

ted p

ope

ly. DO NOT SKIP SEEING

DOCTO

BY

SSUMING YOU H

VE

MINO

NECK INJU

Y. Neck

nd shoulde

p

in c

n

lso indic

te ne

ve d

m

ge, fctu

ed neck ve

tebe, o

bulged discs,

ll of

hich c

n le

ve you

ith lifelong he

lth complic

tions. Shouldend neck p

in might

lso indic

te the p

esence of

n o

thopedic inju

y, such

s d

m

ge to

joint th

t got enched o

t

isted du

ing the

ccident.

He

d

ches<

h3>
Getting he

d

ches is one of the most common symptoms of c

ccident inju

ies. Unfo

tun

tely, it is

lso one of the most

mbiguous. He

d

ches could sign

l

LL SO

TS OF INJU

IES.

Unless you took

n

sty blo

to you

he

d in

n

ccident, you might not immedi

tely expe

ience he

d

ches.

hen they

ppe, they could sign

l

viety of conditions:

• Soft tissue d

  m

  ge

  nd muscle tension in the neck o

  shoulde

  s c

  n le

  d to he

  d

  ches.

• He
  d

  ches c

  n

  esult f

  om ext

  eme st

  ess,

  hich is typic

  l

  fte

  c

  ccident.<

  li>

• He
  d

  ches could sign

  l

  <

  h

  ef=”https://c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  se

  vices

  houston-t

  um

  tic-bin-inju

  y-tbi-

  tto

  ney/”>t

  um

  tic bin inju

  y > (TBI).<

  li>

IT!

H

T?

Yes,

he

d

che th

t develops

fte c

ccident might

eflect d

m

ge to you

b

in. The Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

ol

nd P

evention (CDC)<

h

ef=”https://

.cdc.gov

t

um

ticbininju

y/index.html” t

get=”_bl

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el=”noopene

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efee

“> define

tum

tic b

in inju

y<>

s “

dis

uption in the no

m

l function of the b

in th

t c

n be c

used by

bump, blo

, o

jolt to the he

d, o

penet

ting he

d inju

y.” T

nsl

ted into non-medic

l spe

k: the bin gets ttled ound in the skull,

hich c

uses teing, b

uising,

nd s

elling.

HOLD ON NO

. Don’t stt p

nicking. Befo

e you get too f

ightened…

The most common TBI sust

ined in

c

ccident is “mild tum

tic b

in inju

y” (mTBI),

hich most of us non-docto

s c

ll

“concussion.” “Mild” bin inju

ies, ho

eve

, c

n still c

use he

d

ches, f

tigue, n

use

, “bin fog,”

nd othe

unple

s

nt immedi

te symptoms. They c

n c

use lifelong p

oblems, so they’

e not necess

ily

s “mild”

s they sound. Getting one concussion

lso inc

e

ses youisk of getting subsequent concussions. So, you should

l

ys T

KE

CONCUSSION SE

IOUSLY. It’s you

b

in th

t s inju

ed,

ftell. Pe

sistent he

d

ches

fte c

ccident could, ho

eve

, sign

l

mo

e se

ious, o

o

sening, TBI. In pticul, the initi

l “insult” (

.k.

. inju

y) to the bin you sust

in

hen you t

ke

blo

to the he

d could le

d to bleeding

nd s

elling inside you

skull,

hich in tu

n could c

use

ddition

l d

m

ge to b

in tissue. In the most seve

e c

ses, this d

m

ge could c

use

idesp

e

d cognitive, psychologic

l, o

moto

imp

i

ments, com

,

nd even de

th.

hich is

hy (

e’ll s

y it

g

in), IF YOU FEEL HE

D

CHE-Y

FTE C

CCIDENT, GO SEE

DOCTOIGHT

Y.

B

ck P

in

Like neck

nd shoulde

p

in, <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

neck-

nd-b

ck-inju

y-settlements

“>b

ck p

in > goes h

nd-in-glove

ith c

ccidents. F

equently, the s

me st

ining

nd tension th

t d

m

ge the neck

nd shoulde

s

lso le

d to stiffening

nd p

in in the muscles

nd soft tissue of the b

ck. But let me be cle

: Even th

t kind of inju

y is something you should t

e

t

ith ce. B

ck p

in could

lso sign

l

mo

e se

ious inju

y to spin

l ve

tebe o

discs. These inju

ies, pticully

hen left unt

e

ted, c

n

esult in ch

onic, exc

uci

ting p

in

nd discomfo

t fo

victims,

s

ell

s numbness

nd loss of muscle cont

ol, potenti

lly le

ding to long-te

m (o

even PE

M

NENT) dis

bility.

s

c

ccident inju

y lye

, I

lys

o

y

bout clients

ho expe

ience b

ck p

in. It is not just the potenti

l b

ck inju

y itself th

t I lose sleep ove

. It is

lso the VE

Y

E

L D

NGE

OF THE INJU

Y LE

DING TO OPIOID

DDICTION. The s

d t

uth is, mode

n p

in medic

tion is

s d

nge

ous

s it is effective. So be c

eful, ple

se,

nd GO TO

DOCTOs soon

s you

b

ck feels “off”

fte c

ccident.

bdomin

l P

in<

h3>
It’s p

etty common to feel genelized p

in in you

bdomen

fte c

ccident, especi

lly if you

e

e

e

ing

se

t belt. Did you kno

th

t se

t belts c

n c

use so much d

m

ge th

t

eseche

s h

ve identified

condition kno

n

s “<

h

ef=”https://

.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc/

ticles/PMC4818312/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

no

efee

“>se

t belt synd

ome >“? It’s

h

t h

ppens

hen the se

t belt

o

ks

s pl

nned but pulls so tight on you

body th

t it c

uses inte

n

l tumnd might even le

d to inte

n

l bleeding.

Th

t s

id,

LYS USE YOU

SE

T BELT!

hile se

t belts c

n c

use thei

o

n set of hms, these p

le in comp

ison to the d

m

ge (o

de

th) you’

e likely to f

ce in

collision

ITHOUT one!

In summ

y, th

t

bdomin

l p

in you feel might just

eflect no

m

l

ches

nd p

ins f

om

n

ccident, but it might sign

l d

m

ge to you

intestine o

othe

vit

l o

g

ns. So, guess

h

t you should do if you feel p

in in youbdomen

fte

c

ccident? Th

t’s

ight. GO SEE

DOCTO

IGHT

Y.

N

use

<

h3>

n upset stom

ch

fte c csh might

eflect

ny numbe

of he

lth conditions, including:

• Ext

  eme st

  ess onxiety<

  li>

• Se
  t belt synd

  ome

• e

  ction to seve

  e p

  in<

  li>

• Shock
• B
  

  in inju

  y<

  li>

Like othe

non-specific conditions

fte

c

ccident, n

use

is something you should t

lk to

doctobout, especi

lly if it pe

sists

nd is

ccomp

nied by p

in.

B

uising

hen the tiny blood vessels bene

th you

skin, c

pill

ies, suffe

d

m

ge, you get

b

uise. Du

ing

collision, m

ny diffe

ent objects might collide

ith you

body to c

use

b

uise. The most common culp

its e se

t belts

nd

i

b

gs. You typic

lly

ill not see the full extent of you

b

uises fo

t le

st

d

y o

t

o. B

uising typic

lly he

ls on its o

n, but the b

uised

e

might be tendend so

e. If you notice you

b

uises

em

in so

e

nd the colo

h

sn’t imp

oved, it might indic

te something mo

e se

ious, such

s inte

n

l bleeding o

o

g

n d

m

ge.

S

elling<

h3>
S

elling is

nothe

common physic

l symptom c

ccident victims might expe

ience. Pulled muscles, sp

ins,

nd tissue d

m

ge

ll c

use s

elling in the body,

hich you might not fully expe

ience until d

ys

fte

c

ccident. S

elling c

n be p

inful

nd c

uses stiffness. In most c

ses, you c

n

educe o

elimin

te s

elling by elev

ting the

ffected

e

nd

pplying ice p

cks. If the s

elling doesn’t subside on its o

n, you need to sh

e this

ith you

docto

to ensu

e it doesn’t indic

te something mo

e se

ious.

bno

m

l Sens

tions<

h3>
Sometimes,

c

ccident just m

kes you feel

EI

D. Tingling, numbness, dizziness,

git

tion,

nd othe

ys of feeling “off” could suggest ne

ve o

tissue d

m

ge, o

the p

esence of

b

in o

spin

l co

d inju

y. GET TO

DOCTOIGHT

Y.

Blu

y Vision o

Dizziness<

h3>
Blu

y vision

nd

o

dizzy spells E NOT NO

M

L.<

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

t

um

ticbininju

y/outcomes.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

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no

efee

“> T

um

tic bin inju

ies f

equently c

use these symptoms >, but

hipl

sh o

PTSD f

om the tum

of the

ccident might

lso c

use physic

l symptoms.

hen these symptoms don’t go

y, o

they continue to get

o

se, you need to seek medic

l

ttention

s soon

s possible.

Genel

e

kness

nd Leth

gy

No doubt you

ill be so

e

fte c

ccident, but once the so

eness subsides, you might still feel genelly

e

k

nd leth

gic. Eve

yone h

s these d

ys, but if this pe

sists it might

lso indic

te

bin inju

y.

bno

m

l Sleep P

tte

ns<

h3>
T

um

tic bin inju

ies

nd post-tum

tic st

ess f

om

c

ccident c

n imp

ct

pe

son’s sleep p

tte

ns. Sometimes

ccident inju

y victims h

ve t

ouble f

lling

sleep, othe

times they sleep too much, o

h

ve t

ouble

king. Like othe

symptoms, if these p

tte

ns pe

sist, you need to mention it to you

docto

.

Coping

ith C

ccident Inju

ies<

h2>
P

in m

n

gement is one of the most common,

nd d

nge

ous, t

sks

ccident inju

y victims must f

ce <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comh

t-to-do-

fte

-c

–

ccident-inju

y/”>

fte c

ccident >. The

O

ST thing

bout p

in is th

t it c

n come

nd go. It’s often subjective.

nd

hen it doesn’t go

y, it

ffects you

physic

l

nd psychologic

l

ell-being.

nd,

s I s

id e

lie

,

ddiction to opioids is

const

nt

oy. Some sttegies fo

coping

ith you

p

in include:

• ong>Seeing the s
  me physici

  n ong>. If you don’t h

  ve

  egul

  docto

  , you should get one

  fte

  c

  ccident. He o

  she

  ill document you

  p

  og

  ess mo

  e e

  sily

  s you

  etu

  n fo

  follo

  up visits o

  come in bec

  use you’ve expe

  ienced one o

  mo

  e ne

  symptoms. Keep in mind th

  t you

  docto

  might not

  lys h

  ve the

  ns

  e

  s to you

  issues, but he o

  she c

  n

  ecommend you to

  speci

  list if needed.<

  li>

• ong>Keeping

  n inju

  y jou

  n

  l<

  st

  ong>. It sounds hokey, su

  e, but the f

  ct is, you c

  nnot

  lys

  emembe

  ho

  you

  e

  e feeling e

  ch second of e

  ch d

  y. Keep

  n inju

  y jou

  n

  l

  hich documents you

  physic

  l

  nd emotion

  l feelings. You c

  n even include pictu

  es!

  hen you

  docto

  is st

  uggling to pinpoint the ex

  ct c

  use of you

  symptoms, you

  jou

  n

  l c

  n p

  ovide v

  lu

  ble info

  m

  tion to help.

  ddition

  lly,

  jou

  n

  l p

  ovides

  eco

  d of youecove

  y—the good, b

  d,

  nd ugly—th

  t c

  n p

  ove v

  lu

  ble in leg

  l

  ction do

  n the

  o

  d.

• ong>Be open to diffe

  ent

  ys to m

  n

  ge p

  in<

  st

  ong>. Co

  tisone shots

  nd p

  esc

  iption p

  inkille

  s e t

  o common medic

  l solutions to pe

  sistent p

  in

  fte

  c

  ccident inju

  y, but they come

  ith se

  ious

  isks. P

  in is complex

  nd e

  ch pe

  son expe

  iences it diffe

  ently. Medic

  l m

  n

  gement of you

  p

  in might not

  o

  k fo

  you. M

  ybe you’ll h

  ve bette

  luck t

  ying

  lte

  n

  tive p

  in m

  n

  gement techniques such

  s psychologic

  l counseling,

  cupunctu

  e, visiting

  chi

  opcto

  , o

  medit

  tion.

  c

  ccident l

  ye

  c

  n help you

  ecove

  the compens

  tion you need to pu

  sue the options th

  t

  ill

  o

  k best fo

  you.<

  li>

• ong>E

  t he

  lthy

  nd sleep

  ell<

  st

  ong>. You c

  n help you

  body do the things it needs to do to he

  l itself by e

  ting

  ight

  nd getting p

  ope

  est. Some

  ccident inju

  y victims self-medic

  te

  ith food

  nd othe

  subst

  nces bec

  use they feel dep

  essed

  nd

  e in p

  in.

  void f

  lling into this tp by follo

  ing

  he

  lthy diet

  nd sleep

  egimen.

  sk you

  docto

  to

  ecommend the best pl

  n fo

  you. Depending on you

  situ

  tion

  nd the n

  tu

  e of you

  inju

  y, lo

  imp

  ct exe

  cise

  nd physic

  l the

  py might

  lso help you

  o

  k th

  ough the p

  in of you

  inju

  y.<

  li>

• ong><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  cont

  ct-us

  “>Cont

  ct<>

  n

  tto

  ney ong>. C

  ccident inju

  ies e expensive,

  nd insu

  nce only cove

  s so much medic

  l t

  e

  tment. You do not dese

  ve to de

  l

  ith the emotion

  l bu

  den

  nd fin

  nci

  l st

  ess of

  c

  ccident inju

  y

  ithout help. Spe

  king

  ith

  n expe

  ienced c

  ccident l

  ye

  c

  n help you unde

  st

  nd you

  leg

  l

  ights to compens

  tion.