Car Accident Injuries
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Pain from a car accident can occur immediately following the accident, or may not manifest for a few hours, or even days, after the accident.
If you have been involved in even the most minor car accident, the day after the accident your entire body could feel like one giant ache. Generally, if you received no serious injuries, this pain will subside within a few days. If your auto accident was more serious, however, you could suffer a much higher level of pain, for weeks, months or even years. The most common injuries associated with auto collisions are neck and back injuries, broken bones, lacerations and head injuries.
Whiplash Injuries—The Most Common Type of Car Accident Injury
Of course, the pain symptoms you experience following your car accident will be specific to your injuries. A whiplash, neck or back injury can occur in an accident with speeds as low as 14 mph. Whiplash associated disorders cause the neck to hyperextend, exceeding its normal range of motion. This violent thrust forward, then the “snap” backward can result in injury to the ligament, vertebrae, discs, muscle strain or neurovascular injury, all of which can cause moderate to severe pain.
It is unfortunate that whiplash injuries are often met with skepticism, simply because they cannot be seen. Consider the following statistics related to whiplash car accident injuries:
- The symptoms of whiplash persist for more than six months in about three-quarters of all whiplash patients;
- Rear-end car accidents generally cause more damage to the cervical spine than frontal or side collisions;
- A delay in the onset of pain and other symptoms is the norm rather than the exception in a whiplash injury, and
- As many as 10 percent of those who suffer a whiplash injury will become totally disabled, living with chronic pain.
Diagnosing Car Accident Injury Pain
Diagnosing car accident injury pain is done largely by taking a detailed patient history. X-rays may be beneficial in diagnosing certain car accident injuries, as well as CAT scans, nerve conduction studies and ultrasounds.
Treating Car Accident Injury Pain
There are a variety of treatments your Seattle Pain interventional pain management specialist may use for the pain you are experiencing. At Seattle Pain we will thoroughly evaluate your injury and will use traditional or non-traditional therapies—or a combination—to help minimize your pain and allow you to get back to your life. For pain related to a whiplash injury or a back or neck injury the following treatments could be helpful:
- Steroid injections in the cervical region;
- Pain medication management;
- Facet Injection;
Has a car accident left you suffering from painful injuries?
Contact Our Seattle Interventional Pain Management Specialists
We understand that a car accident can completely derail your life. At Seattle Pain, our primary goal is to relieve your pain and improve your quality of life. We believe in treating the whole patient – and not just the injury. You do not have to live in pain. Call us today.
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