How to Reduce Inflammation After a Car Accident

Written by CrashMD staff

Being involved in a car accident can pose a world of issues for the person involved. On top of dealing with damage to the car, there is the possibility of physical and/or mental damage to the body. The body is, thankfully, a wonder at helping itself to heal. However, sometimes the body’s automatic responses to trauma and injury can lead to additional issues for a person if, let’s say, the body doesn’t heal fully or properly. 

One great way that a body’s immune system helps to heal itself is through inflammation. Inflammation is a natural response to injury or infection, and is a defense mechanism that helps the body to repair damaged tissue as well as fight off infection. 

Of the many ways that inflammation can be present in the body, one of the main ways is through trauma. So when a person is the victim of a car accident and suffers even the mildest or severe of side effects, there is a good chance that inflammation will be present. Inflammation symptoms could include pain, redness, heat, swelling and loss of function. 

If you believe you are suffering from inflammation, or would like to ensure your body is healing as best as possible, it’s best to partner with a trained pain management specialist who can recommend the best anti-inflammatory treatment for your injuries. The goal is to improve a person’s mobility and range of motion, as well as eliminate their pain, all through reducing inflammation after the accident. 

What is Inflammation?

As stated above, inflammation is the body’s natural response to an injury or infection. To understand a little bit in more depth, when a person is injured, chemicals from the body’s white blood cells enter the blood or affected tissues. This raises the blood flow to the area that has experienced an injury or infection. Some of the chemicals cause fluid to leak into the tissues, which results in swelling, redness and warmth. This overall helpful and protective process could trigger nerves and cause pain. 

There are two types of inflammation:

• Acute inflammation: a quick response to injury or infection, such as a minor cut or scrape. Symptoms are generally minor and last for just a few days, or the normal healing period for the particular incident. 
• Chronic inflammation: persistent inflammation that yields less intense pain symptoms but those that are still noticeable. This type of inflammation can last for months or years, and are generally caused by toxins in the body, such as cigarette smoke. 

Chronic inflammation as been linked to a wide range of health conditions, including:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Cancers
• Chronic pain
• Type 2 diabetes
• Mental health conditions (anxiety and depression)
• Autoimmune conditions
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s
• COPD
• Chronic kidney disease
• Ulcerative colitis 

In addition to wanting to heal as quickly as possible, it’s also important to treat acute inflammation so that it does not turn into chronic inflammation. Immediate treatment after a car accident will help to reduce inflammation and prevent a person from suffering from long-term pain and additional health conditions. 

Treatments for Inflammation

The goal of inflammation treatment is to fix, mediate or stop the process. Pain management specialists will also work to recognize and avoid any activities that aggravate pain symptoms. There are several main ways to reduce inflammation after an accident, which is when an injury would have occurred. It’s also important to focus treatment on reducing pain flare-ups during the treatment and healing phase. 

Depending on your level and location of chronic inflammation, your pain management specialist could recommend the following anti-inflammatory treatments for injuries as a result of a car accident. These treatments also depend on the person’s age, desired activity level, location of inflammation, as well as overall health. 

• Hydration: drinking fluids helps to flush out inflammation and reduce pain, especially after an injury. Water helps with tissue repair, joint health and collagen production, as well as reduce harmful scar tissue production. 
• At-home treatments: methods that include RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) could provide inflammation relief for minor cases, as well as light exercises to help from becoming stiff
• Practice a good sleep regimen: it’s important to focus on sleep, as resting helps your body to recover. If you can, try to fall asleep and wake up around the same time each day, and get around eight hours of sleep. Make sure your bedroom is cool and dark, and avoid electronic devices before bed. It’s important to have a comfortable pillow and mattress so you’re comfortable while sleeping. If you feel fatigued throughout the day, even with taking advantage of these tips, make sure you let your pain management specialist know. 
• Medications: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids can help ease pain and swelling. While the goal is to help patients enjoy pain relief and reduce their inflammation, it’s important that the patient does not rely on medications for the long term as it increases their chance of experiencing side effects. 
• Physical therapy: partnering with a trained physical therapist will help to improve joint movement and strength, which will help the patient to experience increased mobility and movement
• Chiropractic care: adjustments that help to relieve pressure on the spine, tissues, and nerves help the body release natural chemicals inside to aid in reducing inflammation
• Mobility aids: canes, walkers, braces and splints can help alleviate stress placed on the affected joints, if this is where the inflammation is located
• Lifestyle changes: quitting tobacco use, lowering alcohol intake, managing weight and focusing on a healthy, non-inflammatory diet can all help to improve inflammation and subsequent symptoms. Supplements have also proven very helpful for helping patients intake the exact vitamins and nutrients that they need, especially if they’re diet has become limited. 
• Physical activity: regular physical activity that focuses on low-impact exercises, such as yoga, swimming and resistance training, cycling and aerobic exercises, can all help to reduce inflammation in the body
• Managing stress: practicing meditation, biofeedback, yoga and breathing exercises can all help to reduce inflammation because stress can increase inflammation in the body 
• Surgery: surgery could be deemed necessary if it has severely damaged joints, but your pain management specialist will opt for the aforementioned minimally-invasive options first

It’s important to reduce inflammation after a car accident for several reasons, with the most important being overall health. Long-term inflammation from a chronic accident can lead to chronic pain that not only reduces a person’s strength and mobility, but also decreases their overall health and wellbeing. By partnering with a pain management specialist as quickly as you can after a car accident, you are increasing your chances of reducing harmful inflammation as well as the painful side effects. 

It’s great that the body has inflamed areas of injury. That’s how pain management specialists know what to treat! But once you feel pain and know how it happened, it’s important to begin treatment. Beginning anti-inflammatory treatment for car accident injuries will help to improve the healing process, both by increasing the success and reducing the recovery period, as well as reduce any chance of experiencing other injury and chronic inflammation symptoms. 

Chronic Inflammation Symptoms and Associated Health Issues

The last thing you want after having suffered from a car accident is to have long-term pain. On top of that, you could suffer from long-term health issues if you did not seek immediate help or the help you received did not fully treat your inflammation symptoms. 

Once acute inflammation has become chronic, which is generally a few months after the traumatic incident, a person can expect any or all of the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Body pain
• Joint pain
• Mood disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.)
• Infections
• Fluctuations in weight (loss or gain)
• Heartburn, constipation or diarrhea

Beginning anti-inflammatory treatment for injuries after a car accident as quickly as possible will help to reduce these additional symptoms. The best case scenario (other than no injuries at all!) is that you had a minor injury, partnered with a pain management specialist a day or two after the accident, you began anti-inflammatory and overall healing therapy as soon as possible, and you not only experienced pain relief through minimally-invasive techniques but also avoided additional hardship for months and years to come. 

Be Proactive After an Injury

Swelling, aka inflammation, is a natural response to an injury, whether it be minor or major. However, if left unchecked, it could prolong your recovery time as well as exacerbate your symptoms. This means that not only will you suffer pain for a long period of time, which means acute pain could turn into chronic pain, it could also mean that you could suffer additional symptoms, including long-term limited range of motion, decreased mobility and a diminished quality of life. 

If you have recently been involved in a car accident and believe you are suffering with the symptoms of inflammation, it’s important to reduce inflammation after said accident. Most people aren’t sure where to start, which is okay. The CrashMD team of pain management specialists is highly qualified in all aspects of pain management, which include how to reduce inflammation after a car accident. The goal is to help the patient get out of pain now, as well as avoid any additional pain symptoms in the future that could be more problematic to treat. If you feel you are suffering from inflammation and would like to learn more about treatment options, please schedule an appointment today with one of our team members.