Auto Accident Injury
In America, there are 5 million car accidents each year and over 18,000 in St. Louis City alone. Fortunately, today's cars are pretty safe and the fatality rate is lower than ever. Not so lucky for us, injuries sustained post-crash are all too common. For a serious crash, you may require immediate medical attention. But even after a minor fender bender it is crucial to get checked out by a healthcare professional.
When you think, “Oh it was just a little bump,” the next time you are involved in a car accident, consider this: the average vehicle on the road today weighs 4,000 pounds. Even a crash at only 5 miles per hour creates an extreme amount of force, equivalent to a 200 pound man running into something at 70 miles per hour!
Koolaid man joke aside, this massive amount of force almost guarantees that there will be damage to your body; internal muscle/soft tissue injuries are present in 90%+ of accident cases.
Immediately after a car accident your symptoms can range from minor pain and stiffness to headaches, numbness and tingling in limbs, dizziness, and increased anxiety. Many patients we see after car accidents start off with just minor aches but then find their symptoms worsening a few days after the incident. Day 2 or 3 is usually the worst. People find this interesting, so let's talk about a few of the reasons this happens.
First, large amounts of adrenaline are dumped into the bloodstream during an accident which limits our perception of pain until it wears off. You can think of this as the "initial shock".
Next, the inflammatory response of the body can take 24-48 hours to reach its maximum. Inflammatory response is part of your immune system and is how your body reacts to protect itself in the event of an injury.
Lastly and most importantly, car accidents can change the physical structure of the spine. Damage to the spine's supporting muscles and ligaments happens with the jolting motion of a crash. Without proper treatment and rehabilitation these changes to your spine can become permanent, affect your posture long term, and make your symptoms stick around for years to come.
Your head and neck are the most susceptible to injury in a collision. The body is strapped in by the seatbelt which keeps it fairly static but the head is allowed to move freely. Factoring that the average human head weighs the same as a bowling ball (remember Jerry Maguire?) it literally turns into a mini wrecking ball when the force from the auto accident is applied. This swinging weight can create massive soft tissue damage and injuries to the joints extending down the length of the spine.
Whiplash is when there is a forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement, typically from a rear-end collision. This is essentially just another term for a neck sprain or a neck strain. Symptoms may be:
Neck pain
Stiffness
Headaches
Pain in the shoulder or between the shoulder blades
Low back pain
Pain or numbness in the arm
Dizziness
Fatigue, trouble sleeping
All of this can be a little daunting and depressing following a car accident, but there is good news. Chiropractors are the experts in analyzing and correcting these injuries. In most cases, either the liable person’s auto insurance or your own policy will cover the necessary tests to diagnose and the treatment to fix your injuries. Just remember that timing is crucial! The longer you wait after an accident to receive treatment increases the chance that the insurance policy won’t cover it. And if not treated right away your injuries may require a longer rehabilitation schedule.
We want you to get better sooner following an accident and can help diagnose your individual injuries to devise a custom treatment plan. See your Local St. Louis Chiropractor, Dr. Chris Gaddie.