Car Accident Injury
Injuries from a car accident are some of the most common reasons people visit our physical therapy clinics in chicago area. Auto collisions cause injuries that can lead to chronic pain, headaches, and mobility issues. La Clínica’s trained staff are experts in these types of car accident injuries and are ready to help you get your life back on track.
Providing Back Pain Treatment in Chicago and Surrounding Areas
The staff at La Clínica has access to advanced imaging equipment to learn the scope and extent of your automobile accident injuries. Once their true nature is known, they can begin recommending a treatment program, which can include both passive and active forms of physical therapy.
The staff at La Clínica has access to advanced imaging equipment to learn the scope and extent of your automobile accident injuries. Once their true nature is known, they can begin recommending a treatment program, which can include both passive and active forms of physical therapy.
What Are Common Injuries You Can Get From a Car Accident?
The force that the body absorbs during a car accident is not always reflected in the impact on your automobile. A small fender bender could do minimal damage to a car, and yet there could still be a real potential for bodily injury to the driver and occupants of the car.
Consider what happens in a typical car accident: Your car suddenly stops when it’s moving relatively quickly (whether you slam on the brakes, the car hits something while it’s moving, someone hits you while you’re driving, etc.). When that happens, your body absorbs some of that shock.
Modern features on a car like seatbelts and airbags can help significantly lessen the impact of that shock, as well as the seriousness or fatality of the incident itself. However, you can still sustain painful—but treatable—spinal, head and neck injuries from a car accident even if the car itself has little damage.
So what are common injuries that happen when your body absorbs the shock of a collision?
That seatbelt will absolutely save your life. It can also leave minor bruising and irritation to the skin, ribcage, and potentially shoulders and your chest. Airbags are among the most important lifesaving advancements in automotive technology, but when you collide with one, the force is so great you can experience bruising.
Provided that you aren’t suffering from any internal bleeding, bruises aren’t serious and will heal on their own. That includes the stiffness and minor discomfort around the trauma site.
The force of the accident can be the hardest on the spine. Of the head and neck injuries from a car accident, whiplash is probably the most common. The resulting pain and discomfort is also what drives people to seek treatment from us.
Your head is, relative to this spine and neck, actually quite heavy. When the car stops suddenly, the blunt force of the crash can cause that head to “whip” around, forcing your spine to absorb the motion itself. Your spine is simply not designed to withstand that type of force.
Minor whiplash pain may subside with some ice and over-the-counter pain medication. However, you could also suffer from a herniated disc or another form of spinal injury that requires x-rays to properly diagnose. Passive and active therapy with a car accident injury specialist will help bring strength back to the area, address the swelling, and remediate the pain associated with whiplash (especially headaches and neck pain).
Flying debris in a car, or the force of another car hitting the side or back of your car can also cause a range of fractures and bone injuries. If you have been diagnosed with a broken bone from a car accident, you may want to visit a specialist to seek advice about post-rehabilitation.
Additionally, if you have concerns or signs of a broken bone including discoloration, swelling, severe stiffness and, of course, pain, it’s time to see ahead and neck injury specialist from Chicago and discuss the impact of the car accident.
Soft tissue describes almost anything in your body that isn’t bone. Soft tissue includes:
- Muscle
- Skin
- Connective tissues/fascia
- Ligaments
- Tendons
- Blood vessels
Whiplash is considered a soft tissue injury because it damages the muscles and fascia around the neck and spine. Bruises and damage to the skin is also considered a soft tissue injury.
If you damage ligaments during the crash like your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or your MCL (medial collateral ligament) you could experience severe swelling and pain in your knee. Car accidents can cause rotator cuff injuries, like minor tears or sprains to the muscles that surround your shoulder.
There are certain symptoms that should cause you concern if you’ve recently been injured in a car accident. Sometimes, the crash itself is so startling, it can take days, or even weeks, to feel the full impact of a collision. That is completely normal. But it also means that you need to be vigilant about injuries that make themselves known well after a crash.
Even if you didn’t report your symptoms right away, you should absolutely see a car injury specialist in Chicago if you’re experiencing:
- Unusual bruising that doesn’t heal
- Difficulty moving or mobility challenges (especially in the joints)
- Headaches and neck pain
- Inability to focus/blurred vision
- Narrowed vision
- Inability to stay focused/foggy-headed
- Severe swelling in any of your joints
- Numbing in your extremities
- Sharp or consistent pain that isn’t going away
Car Accident Injury Statistics
- In the U.S. alone, almost three million people experience non-fatal injuries from car accidents and motor vehicle crashes.
- In 2017, the costs related to medical care and productivity losses from motor vehicle accidents exceeded $75 billion.
- 290,000 people sought treatment in emergency rooms after sustaining injuries in car accidents in 2016.
- Illinois racks up over 300,000 car crashes every year, and the number is quickly growing. The injury rate for those car accidents is about 21%, meaning that, in a quarter of those accidents, at least one person is seriously hurt.
If you were injured in a car accident and live in Chicago, our specialists are ready to talk to you about your injuries and get you on the path towards healing. We’re standing by to schedule your free consultation. Call (773) 763-2800 or use the form on this page to book your appointment today.
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