Written by CrashMD staff
Yikes, you’ve had a car accident! Now what? There’s a lot to think about after you’ve been involved in a motor vehicle accident, which includes what to do about your car’s damage, reaching out to your insurance company, and dealing with the police. But, what is most important and requires immediate attention is your health. Even if you don’t feel sore right away – and especially if you do! – it’s important to a pain management specialist who can evaluate your overall health and make sure that you’re on the best road to recovery. The specialists at CrashMD are trained at diagnosing the causes of pain as well as providing specialized care to effectively treat patients to help them with their car accident recovery needs.
Common Pain Symptoms After a Car Crash
In addition to feeling stressed out and scared, there are other symptoms that need to be addressed as quickly as possible. The goal is to not only evaluate any conditions immediately following the accident, but also to ensure that any small bumps and bruises now don’t worsen with time and lead to additional symptoms in the coming weeks, months and years. The most common pain symptoms after a car crash include:
- Whiplash: one of the most common symptoms after a car accident, whiplash occurs when there is a rapid back and forth movement of the neck
- Headaches: even if you don’t hit your head, you could experience a headache or migraine simply due to the nature of the traumatic event, which could be long-lasting if not treated properly
- Back pain: pain in the back, either from trauma to the spinal column or herniated discs, could also lead to weakness or tingling in the arms and legs
- Chest pain: possibly due to broken or bruised ribs or muscle strains, or even a heart attack
- Abdominal pain: a potential serious issue if caused by internal bleeding caused from an injury
- Joint pain: caused by impact from the car accident that leads to pain when moving the affected joint
- Nerve damage: also known as neuropathic pain, nerve pain can lead to sharp, burning or numbing pain where the nerves have been damaged, as well as where the nerves send signals to in the body
- Shoulder injuries: dislocations, fractures or tears in the rotator cuff can lead to both significant pain and limited mobility
- Emotional pain: PTSD, depression, anxiety and insomnia are also some lesser thought of, but still highly important, pain symptoms that a person can experience post-accident
It’s important to partner with a trained pain management specialist who can accurately diagnose your specific causes of pain and work with you to recommend necessary treatment. Especially if you are suffering from multiple injuries, there could be unique challenges for the treatment of your accident injury care that only a health professional will be able to provide. The goal is to help you get out of pain immediately, as well as avoid any long-term pain symptoms in the future.
Common Treatments for Pain from Car Accidents
Hopefully any pain that is associated with a car accident is temporary and easily treatable. However, sometimes that is not the case. Especially with broken bones, nerve or joint damage, the pain could become chronic and interfere with a person’s quality of life. Additionally, there are even some injuries that are not noticeable immediately but still need to be addressed. The good news is that there are a range of minimally-invasive treatment options to help car accident victims recover as comfortably and quickly as possible. These include:
- Acupuncture: an alternative treatment method where small needles are inserted into the body, targeting the affected areas and promoting natural healing
- Physical therapy: partnering with a trained physical therapist who will recommend specific exercises to help strengthen the body, improve mobility and function, and relieve pain
- Biofeedback: a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and feelings of pain
- Over-the-counter and/or prescription medication: Acetaminophen and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are helpful for relieving pain while other methods are being used, such as physical therapy
- Epidural steroid injection: the injection of steroids into the epidural space around the spinal cord that helps to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain
- Joint injections: steroidal medication that is injected into the affected joint with the goal to reduce inflammation and pain, as well as increase mobility and function, for instance, in the shoulder
- Sacroiliac joint injection: injection of steroidal medication in the sacroiliac joint, which is located in the lower back, to help reduce inflammation and pain in the lower back, buttocks, or upper legs
- Lumbar radiofrequency ablation: this technique uses heat waves to damage targeted nerves in the lumbar (lower back) region that are believed to be sending pain sensations to the brain, thereby reducing or stopping the person’s feelings of pain. This is a helpful technique for those who are experiencing low back pain, which is a common side effect of car accidents.
- Spinal cord stimulation: for long-term accident injury care treatment, spinal cord stimulation might be a great solution. This option involves the placement of a small device in the body under the skin that sends electrical pulses to the spinal cord. The device is used to interrupt pain signals to the brain, which can lead to long-lasting pain relief.
These are just a few of the proven treatment methods that have helped those seeking car accident recovery treatment find relief. If you’ve been involved in a car accident, there is no reason to attempt to diagnose and treat your injuries. In fact, if you don’t seek professional treatment immediately, you could be doing yourself a disservice. Trained pain management specialists are highly adept at both treating pain issues now, as well as helping to avoid any future pain symptoms from developing.
When to Seek Professional Help After a Car Accident
The best time to see a pain management professional for accident injury care is right after the accident. Even if you initially felt no symptoms, but now you’re experiencing pain, it’s still not too late to seek professional care.
Pain symptoms are to be expected after a car accident. Your body has suffered a traumatic event and hopefully you didn’t suffer any or too many injuries, both to you and your car. But just like your car needs to see a mechanic, your body needs to see a pain management specialist.
If you are experiencing pain that lasts longer than a few days, hasn’t gotten better with rest and at-home methods, or has gotten worse, it’s time to see a pain management specialist. It’s also important to take note if any of the following occurs:
- Pain worses
- Pain is felt suddenly and increases with activity/movement
- You have constant aches that intensify
- Pain is experienced without any particular trigger
- Sharp pain that is felt during certain daily activities, i.e. walking, standing, sitting
- Your quality of life or ability to enjoy daily activities has decreased
Addressing these issues with a trained pain management specialist will help to prevent them from turning into chronic issues that require more in-depth pain solutions. Partnering with a specialist will greatly improve your chances of a successful and quick recovery, utilizing the least invasive options with the goal to get you out of pain now as well as avoid any chronic pain symptoms from developing.
Partnering with a Pain Management Specialist
Seeking care from pain management specialists is one of the best steps you can take when you are thinking about what to do after a car accident. They are trained in diagnosing and treating each patient’s specific pain symptoms and create a customized treatment plan to help the patient find relief now and avoid additional chronic issues in the future.
The specialist will take a comprehensive approach to not only treat, for instance, your headache, but also determine why your head is hurting in the first place and ensure that there isn’t more extensive damage. In addition to treating the pain symptoms, the specialist will help to improve function and quality of life so each patient can enjoy their ideal daily activities and lifestyle goals.
Additionally, when pain symptoms are addressed as quickly as possible after a car accident, the chances of being able to find relief from minimally invasive treatment options is greater. That means not only more comfortable options now, but also less recovery downtime and improved chances of success! We all know that car accidents are scary, but car accident recovery doesn’t have to be, especially when you partner with a highly skilled and compassionate pain management specialist.
If you’ve suffered from a car accident and are looking for accident injury care, please reach out to the CrashMD team today. We are dedicated to helping you find both immediate relief now, as well as ensure no long-term chronic pain issues, and can help to effectively provide a custom treatment plan to do just that. Please call or email to schedule an appointment so that we can work together to help you enjoy a pain-free life.
