Each year, more than 6 million car accidents happen in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Car accidents can be traumatic and life-altering, and affect people’s lives in different ways. Whether you have been in a minor fender bender or a serious collision, you may be too shaken up to think clearly so that you can seek car accident treatment Woodstock GA. It is important to seek medical attention soon after the crash, even if you don’t feel any immediate symptoms. The doctor will examine you thoroughly to ensure that you’re fine. You may not experience any severe symptoms immediately after the car accident, especially because your adrenaline may be running high. If you have a fracture, head injury, or spinal injury, you should seek urgent/emergency care. However, if you don’t feel anything or just have some minor aches and pains, you should schedule an appointment with a doctor, as you may still have an injury that you’re unaware of. Oftentimes, these injuries can surface days or weeks after your car accident.
There are several symptoms that you should look out for following a car accident, including:
The delayed onset of your symptoms depends on the type of injury sustained, as well as the severity of the injury.
But we would highly recommend visiting a doctor for a thorough examination after a car accident even if you feel okay and don’t experience any symptoms.
How long you will experience pain and other symptoms depends on some factors, including:
Auto accident recovery time depends on the severity of your injuries and the accident. It can take days, weeks, months, or even years to completely heal. However, you can improve your recovery time by doing the following:
Being in a car accident is stressful enough. You don’t have to worry about your treatment since our doctors will work with you to create a personalized recovery plan to ensure you can recover from your injuries as quickly as possible. From managing your pain to physical therapy to surgery (if necessary), we will be with you every step of the way on your road to recovery.
Your body’s fight or flight response starts to engage about the time your airbag deflates after a car accident. As you perform a self-check to determine that you are not injured, you may even have a passing thought that you feel okay, all things considered. As you get on with the tasks required after a collision, you may not give your physical condition any more thought. However, even a minor accident transfers significant forces through your body. You likely have injuries that your body is hiding from you and for which you don’t feel pain for hours, days, or even weeks. These hidden injuries can be substantial and long-lasting if left untreated. Advanced Health Solutions – GA Spine & Disc specializes in treating these types of injuries. Dr. Kal and his team know exactly what to look for and how to interpret your symptoms to provide you with an accurate diagnosis and prompt car accident treatment Woodstock GA. Even if you feel fine, a thorough examination within days of your collision could reveal any of the following common injuries that happen during car accidents.
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries during car accidents. The whipping action that occurs between your head and neck often causes a range of soft tissue damage that is not immediately painful. A type of soft tissue injury, whiplash typically develops within days of an accident. Symptoms of whiplash can include neck pain and stiffness, headaches, loss of range of motion in the neck, tingling or numbness in the arms, dizziness, and fatigue. Without prompt treatment, however, you may experience the effects of neck injury for weeks, months, or longer. Whiplash can be a complex injury that isn’t the same for every patient. You might need medical treatment, physical therapy, and pain management to recover fully.
The forces behind whiplash are also severe enough to cause a concussion, a traumatic brain injury that is typically caused by a blow to the head or by internal damage caused by the same motion that causes whiplash. Symptoms of a concussion include:
You can have a concussion without losing consciousness, and symptoms can be delayed and unrecognizable immediately after your accident. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by impact to the brain and can result in long-term damage to brain function. Symptoms may not show up until days, weeks, or months after an accident, and can take the form of a personality change, or becoming forgetful or easily angry. If you experience a concussion, are knocked unconscious, or have headaches after the accident, you should seek prompt car accident treatment Woodstock GA immediately.
Injuries to your spine sometimes are not apparent right away. It is always safe to assume you have a potential spinal cord injury, so visit a physician to confirm or rule it out. Swelling and bleeding that occurs in or around your spinal cord can cause numbness or paralysis that affects you gradually. Less serious, but still of concern, is slowly developing back pain stemming from strained muscles. Untreated, these symptoms could develop into long-term back problems. While experiencing back pain is normal after an accident, if you are experiencing extreme pain or pressure, you should seek medical help right away because you may have a spinal cord injury. Remember, car accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States.
Sometimes, the force of a car accident can cause the vertebrae in the spine to balloon out or rupture, which is a condition called a herniated disc. The symptoms of a herniated disc include severe pain and loss of feeling, which may not show up right away.
During a collision, the impact sometimes causes a driver or passenger to be thrown forward, hitting their knee on the dashboard. The direct trauma to the knee can cause multiple injuries, including torn meniscus, a fractured kneecap (patella), or patella chondromalacia. The severity of the injury may not be immediately obvious, so it is important to look for signs of inflammation and injury to the knee.
The force of a car accident can sometimes cause one shoulder to be thrown forward due to the impact, or twist the body. This can cause strains, bruising, and ligament tears, such as a torn rotator cuff, that can worsen over time.
Soft tissue injuries are one of the most common types of injuries that occur during car accidents. This type of injury occurs due to damage to the muscles, tendons, or ligaments that surround the bones. Soft tissue injuries occur when there is stress and impact to the body that the soft tissues cannot entirely absorb. Typically taking the form of strains or sprains, soft tissue injuries may take hours or days to develop into pain and present symptoms. Just as soft tissue damage factors into whiplash and back injuries, your feet, knees, and ankles could be injured in a car accident. Shoulder, elbow, and wrist injuries are also common. Like other collision injuries, these may not hurt right away. With this delayed response, you might not even associate the pain from these locations with your accident at first. If you are experiencing pain that lasts beyond a few days, you should consult with your doctor to determine the cause.
Internal bleeding may not be immediately obvious, but it is an injury that could be life-threatening. Signs and symptoms may not be obvious to you until you are already in serious condition.
Contemporary safety systems in cars are designed to safeguard you in a collision, and your body’s systems get you through the crisis. Neither, though, can they protect you from the hidden injuries of a car accident. If you have been involved in a collision, Advanced Health Solutions – GA Spine offers high-quality car accident treatment Woodstock GA. Call us today at (770) 212-3991 or use our online contact form to schedule an appointment with our highly experienced doctor. Remember, it is a matter of being proactive and remaining safe rather than becoming sorry!
We are a Multidisciplinary Clinic with over 75 years of Combined Experience
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