The force of a car accident can cause far more damage to your body than you might realize. In fact, many of the most common car accident injuries affect the soft tissues in your body, like muscles, tendons, and ligaments. While scrapes, bruises, and broken bones are more obvious injuries, you can also experience significant pain and discomfort from a car accident that causes soft tissue injuries. Visit an accident injury doctor as soon as possible after a car accident to get checked out for possible injuries and get started on treatment right away.
Delayed Symptoms with Soft Tissue Injuries
Sometimes people don’t recognize soft tissue injuries right away because they can come with delayed symptoms. The shock and stress of the car accident can cause your body to flood with adrenaline that can actually mask pain and other symptoms. That’s why you want to visit a skilled accident injury doctor who can recognize signs and diagnose soft tissue injuries even before you fully experience symptoms. The sooner you can get treatment for a soft tissue injury, the better chances you have at a swift recovery and avoiding any complications.
5 Common Soft Tissue Injuries After a Car Accident
Here are five of the top soft tissue injuries caused by car accidents every day:
Whiplash
Whiplash is the number one soft tissue injury common in car accidents. This type of injury can affect the head, neck, and upper back. When two vehicles collide, it can cause your head and neck to snap forward and backward rapidly, which can strain your neck muscles out of their normal range of motion. This can even lead to tears in the muscles and tendons that provide support to your head and neck.
Back Pain
Back pain is also common after car accident injuries because of the amount of pressure placed on the muscles and soft tissues in your back. There are many causes of back pain after a car accident, and many of them are related to soft tissue injuries and damage. You may experience sore, stiff muscles in your back from the sudden force of impact.
Sprains
Soft tissue sprains can occur when the car accident jolts and jostles your body and causes ligaments to overstretch. Ligaments connect your bones, and a sprain can cause pain, inflammation, and even affect your mobility. In more serious cases, you may even experience a ligament tear. Ligaments support bones and joints, like in your neck, knees, and ankles.
Strains
Muscles and tendons can strain out of their typical range of motion, which can leave them weakened or torn. If you experience a soft tissue strain from a car accident, you may notice tenderness and bruising in the area, along with swelling and inflammation. Muscle spasms are also common with muscle sprains, and these can occur in the neck and back after a car accident.
Head Injury
You may experience a head injury due to a car accident if you suffer a blow to the head. Hitting your head on part of the vehicle, like the steering wheel or window, can lead to a concussion and cause bruising or even bleeding on the brain. Head injuries can also cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, and disorientation.
How an Accident Injury Doctor Treats Soft Tissue Injuries
When you visit an accident injury doctor after a car accident, they will want to perform a physical examination to determine what areas of the body were negatively impacted by the car accident. In order to diagnose a soft tissue injury, your accident doctor may want to run diagnostic imaging tests like an X-ray to get a clearer picture of the affected area. X-rays and other diagnostic imaging tools can also help to rule out other potential injuries like fractures or broken bones.
Once your accident doctor has determined the most appropriate diagnosis for your injuries, they will develop a treatment plan that addresses your specific symptoms and the root cause of your pain. Treatment for soft tissue injuries is typically minimally invasive and may include icing the area to reduce swelling and inflammation and immobilizing an injured area to allow healing to occur. Learn more about the next steps for healing from a soft tissue injury by visiting our team of accident injuries doctors at Pro-Care Medical Centers in San Antonio.
