Potential Back Injuries Caused by Motor Vehicle Accidents

Getting into an accident can be scary and so overwhelming that it feels like it takes over your life. The worst part is becoming so severely injured that you cannot do the things that you used to enjoy. In some cases, your life may be forever changed because of the negligence of another driver.

One of the hardest injuries to overcome is a back injury resulting from a car accident. There are so many ways that you can be hit, and each one creates a risk of causing a different type of damage to your back. More minor accidents may just leave you with a temporary strain, but other crashes have the potential to leave you with complicated, long-term damage.

How long will my back hurt after a car accident?

The length of time you will experience back pain directly ties to the amount you will seek in a personal injury settlement. The more damage caused means the longer your recovery will take, which is an obvious strain on you, your life, and your family. In certain instances, your back may never make a full recovery, which can lead to costly life changes.

Signs that you have suffered a back injury include:

• General pain
• Pain radiating down your backside and legs
• Stiffness when trying to stand up or walk
• Numbness or tingling in arms, hands, legs or feet
• Discomfort when moving when you sleep
• Muscle spasms

These are typical symptoms that may occur with any back injury. The worse the damage, the more symptoms you may have, including those that affect certain systems within your body.

Serious back injuries caused by car crashes

Some of the back injuries that you may experience include:

• Spinal cord injuries. A spinal cord injury is the most critical back injury that can be caused by a car accident. It can cause bruising, lacerations, and damage from crushing under extreme pressure. The end result can be permanent nerve damage or paralysis. This is one of the injuries where you need time on your side to minimize the likelihood of needing care for the rest of your life.
• Fractures. Fracturing the spine can happen in a high-impact crash that causes individual vertebrae to break. These breaks don’t have to be major to cause serious injury. In fact, compression fractures that occur under pressure tend to leave hairline cracks or fissures in the bone. These injuries can come from failure to wear a seatbelt but really any violent movement on impact can end in a fracture. The more severe the break, the more likelihood there is for permanent spinal cord damage that can cause anything from incontinence to immobility.
• Herniated discs. The discs between each vertebra in your spine act as cushions and can suffer damage under the force of an auto accident. Even the slightest slip of a disc may place pressure on nerves, causing pain and numbness. Herniated discs are also known as bulging or ruptured discs. Traditionally, treatment consists of rest and physical therapy but if the disc’s position is causing serious complications, it could warrant surgery.
• Whiplash. This is one of the most common car accident injuries, particularly in rear end collisions because of the jerking motion that causes your head to snap back. While it tends to be thought of mostly as a head and neck injury, it can affect your upper back by stretching those muscles and ligaments. Whiplash can be felt instantly or take several days to surface with pain, stiffness, dizziness, fatigue or blurred vision.
• Soft tissue injuries. Almost any car accident can cause a soft tissue injury. These are comprised of sprains, strains and tears to the muscle, tendons, and ligaments in your back. While these injuries often heal, they can take weeks to months to go away. In the meantime, you may feel neck pain in addition to the stiffness, spasms and general pain mentioned above. Potential treatment methods for dealing with this type of injury if it lingers include, among others, chiropractic treatment or physical therapy.

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident that has left you with a debilitating back injury, you deserve to receive the proper medical care to help return your life to normal. If your back injury was so severe that your life will never be the same, you need the caring Charlotte car accident injury lawyers at Warren & Kallianos, PLLC to help secure a more comfortable future for you. To schedule your free, no-obligation consultation in our Charlotte office call 704-377-7777, or we invite you to reach out to us through the firm’s contact page to tell us your story.