A car crash can affect any part of the body and leave you in a sorry state. All the various resulting complications could leave you in need of medical intervention. Before looking at the treatment options, let’s take talk about the major car accident causes.
What causes car accident injuries?
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving has long been a leading cause of car crashes, but it has only gotten worse with the increase in popularity of diversion causes such as smartphones. It’s not surprising to see someone cruising down the road while browsing through their phone’s applications.
Driving while influenced
Regardless of the intoxicating substance, this factor still falls under human errors. Drunk driving is one of the most common causes of car accidents. Drinking and driving may seem to be thrilling, but it is a grave risk to your safety and the lives of those on the road.
Over-speeding
Each day, many drivers slam on the gas when they are late for work or making their way to urgent matters. Car crashes occur, as a result, resulting in death or severe injury. Even if the justification for speeding seems to be valid, the fact remains that the quicker the car is going, the less influence you have over it while encountering an unexpected circumstance on the lane.
Rainy weather conditions
It’s nearly impossible to avoid driving in the rain all of the time. This rain will significantly alter road conditions by obstructing visibility, concealing wide potholes, amplifying sliding, and drastically decreasing traction. If you can’t pull over till the rain stops, driving with extreme caution is crucial. Any negligence on the driver’s part may leave them needing an accident injury doctor.
The various types of accident injuries
Since the high impact of an accident can be very damaging, your body may suffer from many different conditions. The most common injuries include the following.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Damage happens when an individual experiences a blow to the head that whips the head forward and back or side to side (as in a traffic accident), allowing the brain to clash with the bony skull at high velocity. This physical jolt tears the blood vessels and damages brain tissue, especially where the skull’s internal surface is hard and irregular; damage occurs at the impact site.
As a result, various brain regions are affected, most commonly the temporal and frontal lobes. The sudden movement of the brain in a closed head injury will extend and damage neural axons, which are the long threadlike structures of nerve cells in the brain. They connect cells and integrate different areas of the brain with the rest of the body. Axonal damage disrupts functional connectivity between different brain regions and between the brain and other body parts.
Paralysis
When the spinal cord is damaged more severely, it can cause paralysis. This condition results in a muscle or group of muscles losing their ability to function suitably. Paralysis usually causes the subject to lose awareness and response in the affected areas. You may suffer from this complication if a nerve in the spinal cord has undergone critical damage. Severe harm to the nerves in the lumbar spine may result in lower-body paralysis. On the other hand, an injury to the cervical spine is most likely to show in the upper body or both the upper and lower regions. You may suffer paralysis in the following four categories: Monoplegia, Hemiplegia, Paraplegia, and Tetraplegia.
Back injuries
Below are some of the most prevalent forms of back injury caused by automobile accidents:
- Thoracic or Lumbar vertebral fractures: The thoracic vertebrae are bones in the back’s central region, while the lumbar vertebrae comprise the lower backbones. Flexion fractures, rotation fractures, and extension fractures are common in the lumbar and thoracic areas. Rotation fractures, which occur when a bone twists to the point of fracturing, are relatively uncommon. Extension fractures occur as the bones pull apart, which is particularly frequent in head-on collisions. Flexion fractures are more common than extension fractures, with flexion fractures happening where the back of the bone remains intact, but the front of the bone cracks and loses height.
- Compression fractures: Compressive fractures are minute cuts or cracks in the spine’s bones. These are severe back conditions that can cause breathing difficulties and long-term discomfort.
- Herniated discs: Small, spongy discs surround the backbones, cushioning them. In an automobile crash, the discs will split or break if there is too much force applied. The discs will also bulge, putting pressure on the spine’s nerve roots. A herniated disc can cause a lot of discomforts, fatigue, and numbness in your body. The pain can spread all over the body, particularly vertically and horizontally in the spine.
Neck injuries and whiplash
Whiplash is a frequently delayed neck complication that most commonly occurs after a car crash, specifically rear-end accidents. Due to this, the victim may experience headaches at the skull’s base, shoulder pain, and decreased range of motion in the neck. A neck strain may also cause acute discomfort. For certain circumstances, the pain in the neck might not appear for several days.
When to visit the doctor?
Emergency care facilities are necessary depending on the severity of the crash. No matter how minor or severe the injuries are, anyone involved in a car crash needs to have them checked as soon as possible. Failure to receive appropriate medical intervention may aggravate your condition.
What are the treatments available for car accident injuries?
After a thorough diagnosis, you can avail of treatment options like physical therapy, soft tissue manipulation, chiropractic care, laser therapy, non-invasive spinal decompression, and possibly surgical procedures.
Physical therapy
Following a traffic crash, physical therapy will help you heal more quickly. Moreover, it can help you develop muscle strength and increase the range of motion. You may feel that regaining the ability to walk or recovering complete mobility in your arms or wrists is unlikely. However, this treatment can aid healing to the vastest degree possible.
Soft tissue manipulation
Soft tissue therapy is a method for relieving discomfort, relaxing muscles, enhancing range of movement, and rebuilding strength. Adhesions that develop inside the soft tissue from car crash trauma can also benefit from this manipulation.
Chiropractic care
A car accident injury chiropractor can bring about multiple benefits from this non-invasive treatment. The most common advantages include inflammation reduction, minimizing pain, restoration of movement, and breaking up sensitive scar tissue.
Laser therapy
Laser therapy is a painless recovery option for those suffering from traumatic car crashes. Nutrients, oxygen, and water are brought to the injured area by laser light, stimulating circulation. As a result of the improved healing conditions, there is a decrease in stiffness, swelling, and spasms.
Non-invasive spinal decompression
This non-surgical stabilization treatment successfully addresses various disc conditions and inflammation in the back and neck area. Many patients with severe neck pain or herniated discs in the spinal cord should consider cervical decompression therapy.
Final thoughts
Since a car accident can badly impact any body part, a person may suffer several injuries. Any condition that is too severe may require surgery, leaving life-long complications. If you want to avoid such a circumstance, you can try one of the non-invasive treatments recommended by medical practitioners themselves.
