Car accidents can be extremely traumatic, frequently resulting in injuries, sometimes serious, life-changing injuries like broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, or paralysis.
Even if you make it out of a car accident seemingly unharmed, you might still have a severe injury that isn't immediately evident for several reasons.
Symptoms of soft tissue injuries sometimes take a while to develop, so you should always see a doctor following a car accident.
You should also be aware of the symptoms of soft tissue injuries so you know what to look out for and seek medical attention if necessary.
Being armed with this information will help ensure that you can curb any long-lasting side effects from your car accident and pursue compensation for your injuries.
In the article below, we'll take a look at a few examples of soft tissue injuries and how you can treat them.
Want more information on how a chiropractor can treat your injuries? Read our blog post: "The 10 Different Types of Chiropractic Therapies."
Table Of Contents
- What Are Soft Tissue Injuries?
- Home Treatments For Soft Tissue Injuries
- Soft Tissue Injuries Are Serious Too
What Are Soft Tissue Injuries?
Injuries like broken bones and lacerations are obvious immediately following your car accident. However, injuries to your body's soft tissues, like your muscles, tendons, and ligaments are usually less noticeable.
The violent motion your body experiences in a collision can result in a variety of injuries to these tissues, including:
Whiplash
Whiplash occurs due to sudden movement of the head due to a vehicle being struck from the back, front, or side.
Whiplash causes a great deal of pain to the neck, shoulders, and upper arms, and can lead to numbness in your hands.
Sprains
Ligaments in the body's joints, like your elbows knees, or ankles, can stretch or tear during your car accident. These injuries are known as sprains.
These injuries will likely cause pain in the joints, muscles spasms, muscle weakness, swelling, and cramps.
Strains
Strains occur when your muscles or tendons are stretched or torn due to the trauma of the car accident.
They can result in pain, muscle spasms, swelling, and cramping.
Contusions
Blows to the body during the accident can result in painful bruises when blood pools under the skin around an injury, known as contusions.
In some cases, contusions lead to permanent damage.
Home Treatments For Soft Tissue Injuries
If you can't immediately make it to the doctor to have your injuries examined and treated, there are a few things you can do for yourself at home.
Doctor's typically recommend this treatment when someone has injured a muscle, tendon, or ligament.
You should begin these treatments immediately after the injury, and continue treatment for the next 24-48 hours.
If the symptoms persist after 48 hours, you should see your doctor.
The treatment is referred to as RICE, and works as follows:
- Rest: Rest the injured area. Avoid moving it and try to keep weight off it. Use splints, braces, canes, or crutches when available.
- Ice: Ice the injury for 20 minutes four to eight times a day. This is especially necessary within the first 3 days. Never allow ice to touch the skin directly.
- Compression: Compression is effective for up to 1 week. Wrap the bandage tightly enough to support the area, without cutting off blood flow.
- Elevation: Elevation reduces swelling and bruising by making it more difficult for blood to reach the injury. Experts say it is best to elevate the area for 2–3 hours a day.
Want more information on the best way to treat your injuries? Read our blog post: "3 Best Ways to Treat Back Pain After a Car Accident."
Soft Tissue Injuries Are Serious Too
Even though they aren't immediately apparent, and they might seem minor, they often take a long time to heal and can seriously impair your ability to function normally in everyday life.
Some injuries to ligaments or tendons can even require surgery, and neck or spine damage can result in permanent damage.
Soft tissue injuries shouldn't be taken lightly, and you need to receive treatment for these types of injuries just as you would for a broken bone or a deep laceration.
If you are in Georgia or Tennessee, we invite you to visit one of the Car Accident Clinics at the Car Wreck Doctor.
Their team of Accident Injury Chiropractors and Medical Doctors have been treating Car Accident Victims for 40 years. If you need to speak with someone about your Soft-tissue injuries, click the button below.