It is possible to walk away from a car accident without sustaining any obvious injuries. In fact, you might feel grateful or lucky considering the circumstances. However, after a few days, you may start to notice some pain and discomfort start to set in. Car accident injuries are notorious for delayed symptoms that can take hours or even days to fully appear. Even if you don’t have any scrapes, bruises, or broken bones, you may still have some joint or soft tissue damage that can cause you pain. If you start to notice pain after a car accident, then you want to make a visit to an accident injury doctor to find out whether or not you have sustained any damage.
Hip Pain after a Car Accident
The hip joints are crucial for mobility, and we depend on our hips to help us walk around, move from sitting to standing, and so much more. If you start to experience pain in your hips, it can begin to impact your ability to go about your daily routine. Any potential injury to one or both of your hip joints after a car accident should be taken seriously. The hip joint is actually the joint that bears the most weight as it connects the pelvis to the thigh bone. This type of joint is known as a ball and socket joint, where the ball at the top of the femur connects into a socket on the side of the pelvis. Ball and socket joints require healthy lubrication from fluid-filled sacs to help the joint move smoothly. An injury to the area can disrupt these healthy movements and cause pain, discomfort, and other symptoms.
Types of Hip Injuries after a Car Accident
A serious type of hip injury sustained in a car accident is a fracture. A fracture is more commonly known as a broken bone, and in this case, either the hip socket or other part of the joint gets damaged in the accident. Not all broken bones come with obvious injury and require a brightly coloured cast. In fact, it isn’t possible to wear a cast to help set a hip fracture. When the force of the accident causes damage to the hip joint and surrounding areas, it can severely impact your mobility and even keep you from moving the hip joint altogether. Some hip fractures can end up requiring major surgery and even hip replacement surgery. Here are some of the most commonly broken bones during a car accident like clavicle, sternum and facial bones.
Another example of a hip injury due to a car accident is known as bursitis. This occurs when the fluid-filled sac that supports the hip joint gets inflamed, which ends up causing severe pain. This inflammation and swelling in the area can develop slowly over time, which is why you might not recognize it right away. However, this type of pain will become quite severe and you will want to seek out an accident injury doctor to diagnose the condition.
Diagnosing and Treating Hip Pain
In order to diagnose hip pain after a car accident, an accident injury doctor will want to perform a physical examination of the affected area. Your doctor may also want to run some diagnostic imaging tests, like an X-ray or CT scan to get a clearer picture of how the hip joint was damaged in the car accident. Once your doctor has determined the appropriate diagnosis, they will develop a treatment plan that addresses your pain symptoms as well as the root cause. For example, a diagnosis of mild bursitis may be treated with rest and ice at home, while a more serious case could call for physical therapy or even surgical intervention.
Chiropractic Care for Hip Pain
Chiropractors can provide all-natural, gentle treatment approaches to hip pain after a car accident. Chiropractic care addresses the musculoskeletal system and takes a holistic perspective on how the whole body is impacted. Gentle therapeutic adjustments can help restore proper functioning to the hip joint, while therapeutic massage and supportive stretches can help you regain mobility after a hip injury. As you recover from even more serious injuries or surgery, a chiropractor who specializes in car accident injuries can work with you to restore your range of motion and strengthen the joint area.
If you are looking for an accident injury doctor, then visit our chiropractors at ProCare Medical Center to learn more about comprehensive care provided for hip injuries sustained in a car accident.
