4 Complications That Can Be Occurred Because of a Car Accident

A car accident is one of the worst things you can go through in your life. No matter how careful you are on the road and how many prevention methods you use, there is always a risk of you getting in an accident.

What’s more, the possible contraction of injuries because of a car accident and the severity of them are as unpredictable as the road accident itself. Therefore, when you get caught in a traffic collision, there’s no saying what kind of damage you’ll face and how severe your injuries will be. 

Apart from bruises, scrapes, abrasions, scars, burns, bleeding, and broken bones – which are some of the most common injuries you can face in an accident – there are some other complications as well. For common and visible injuries, your obvious and necessary step would be to call an emergency number and get instant medical attention. 

But for those injuries which are hidden and haven’t surfaced yet, those complications cannot be solved after making an appointment with your primary care physician and getting a band-aid. These complications require special treatment from a specialist.

Therefore, it is important to be aware of them, and knowing what step to take if, God forbid, you or a loved one faces them in the future. 

1. Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries caused due to a rear-ended car accident. And it is more than just neck pain.  Apart from rear-ended car accidents, whiplash can also be caused by sports injuries, falling, and other strenuous physical activities. 

When your car is hit from the rear, it gives you a sudden push on the back, which you obviously don’t see coming. When your body jerks forward, your head remains a little behind and follows your torso, and when eventually your body gets back in place, the damage already gets done. The sudden and rapid back and forth movement messes up with the torque of your body, the place where the spine is connected to your skull, which is visibly your neck.

The hyperflexion, or the initial snap when your body falls forward, is the cause of whiplash. One of the worst things about this injury is that it doesn’t show itself immediately. It can take a few hours or even a day to start showing its symptoms, which delays the recovery and healing process. Therefore, it is recommended that you visit a car accident clinic and get a full body checkup before thinking that you got lucky and didn’t contract any injury. 

Whiplash results in constant pain in your neck and possibly back. It limits your ability to move and tilt your head. It can also make it impossible for you to bend your body without feeling immense pain, which only gets worse with time if the treatment isn’t started. 

In severe cases of whiplash, numbness and dizziness are also the symptoms.

2. Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy causes when there is damage to the nerves which are located outside your brain and spinal cord – these are called peripheral nerves. The reason for this damage can be intense compression, which your body often faces during a car accident.

Apart from a car accident, which is a traumatic injury, peripheral neuropathy can also be caused by metabolic problems, intake of toxins, infections, and genetics. Diabetes is one of the most common causes.

As a result, peripheral neuropathy can cause weakness in your body, along with numbness and constant pain, usually in the feet and hands, which gets worse as the time without treatment goes by. The hands and feet are affected because your peripheral nerves are responsible for sending information to your brain and spine to the rest of your body, including feet and hands. These nerves are also responsible for conveying sensory information, which is why your body feels numb when they are damaged.

The pain that comes with this complication is often described as ‘burning’ and ‘stabbing.’ However, there can be further symptoms as well if the damage is severe. 

Not only it limits your range of movement, but this complication also affects other functions of your body, such as urination, circulation, and digestion. 

If peripheral neuropathy is treatable, the symptoms can be improved, but not without the use of prescribed medications and proper peripheral neuropathy treatment.

3. Herniated Disc

A herniated disc is not very uncommon among post-car accident injuries. In fact, it is as frequent as breaking a bone in a car crash. A herniated disc is a name given to a complication that occurs when one or more vertebrae in your spinal cord get damaged, compressed, ruptured, or fall out of place.

Your spine is made of little bones that stack on top of each other to form a spine – these bones are called vertebrae. And between these individual cushions, there are rubber-like cushions, which are discs. If these discs shift out of place or get compressed, it can result in a herniated disc.

In a traffic collision, your body goes through some pretty rough movements and postures, all of which take a toll on your body, and herniated disc is one of the results of that toll. 

Herniated disc brings immense pain, which becomes worse with time if the treatment is delayed. A herniated disc also comes with a risk of irritating a nearby nerve in your back, which can cause further complications, including numbness, weakness, and pain in different parts of the body, including arms and legs. buy 7.5mg zopiclone tablets If things get worse, dysfunction of bladder and bowel movements can occur.

Much like whiplash, a herniated disc can also stay hidden and doesn’t show symptoms in the start – or at all – but it still doesn’t mean that there is no complication, the treatment is still pretty much required.

Treatments usually include a lot of rest, physical therapy, and gentle stretching, along with using ice and heat pads for pain relief. Another way to deal with this is spine manipulation – chiropractic treatment. Apart from that, NSAIDs help in pain relief. Surgery is not always necessary, but in rare cases, it might be the last resort.

4. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Apart from physical injuries, emotional and mental illnesses are also prevalent in car accident patients, especially if an accident was traumatic, resulted in a heavy injury of a loved one, or death. One of such illnesses is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If something else was already eating your mind and it got even worse with the car crash, it can also result in PTSD.

If you have PTSD, your routine can be messed up and it can become really difficult for you to execute tasks that you were easily able to do. It can breed new fears in you – for instance, agoraphobia and the fear of driving or just being in a car. Panic attacks are also one of the conditions people develop after a car accident and nightmares are also possible. Seeking treatment is the best way to get rid of it. 

First of all, it is recommended that you admit and accept your complication – there’s definitely no shame in that. Then, seek relevant help. A car accident doctor will recommend you a relevant person to see for the treatment of PTSD.