Car accidents are a common occurrence in the United States. Every day, there is an average of 2.4 million cars on the road and more than 500,000 car crashes nationwide according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These numbers don’t take into account that many car crashes go unreported or just cause minor damage to vehicles and property. If you’re driving your vehicle and get into an accident, it’s important to know what injuries can happen if you suffer from a serious spine injury after being involved in such a collision.
This blog post will discuss 9 serious spinal injuries caused by auto accidents that involve long-term pain and recovery time for victims:
Cervical Spine Injury
The neck is a very delicate and vulnerable part of the spine. It can be damaged in an accident when your head suddenly snaps forward or backward and it whiplashes, which causes severe pain and may cause damage to nerves or blood vessels in the cervical vertebrae. If you’ve suffered from this type of injury after being involved in a car collision, make sure to get medical treatment right away because if not treated properly, spinal cord injury symptoms such as paralysis could set in over time. In fact, at least 12% percent of patients who suffer from herniated discs from auto accidents go on to develop serious complications due to delayed diagnosis according to one study published by Journal of Neurosurgery Spine.
Spinal Cord Injury
The spinal cord is a vital part of the central nervous system and it’s what carries messages from the brain to different parts of your body. If you experience a car accident that damages this critical bundle of nerves, you may suffer from paralysis or loss of sensation due to serious damage caused by whiplash trauma as explained above in detail. In fact, according to one study published by J Neurosurg Spine , at least 12% percent of patients who have herniated discs end up developing serious complications because they were not diagnosed properly right away after their accidents which causes more severe injuries over time.
Brain injury
Sometimes an auto collision can cause more than just a spine injury – it can also cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI). In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , TBI is responsible for 30% of all fatalities from car accidents. Depending on how serious your accident was and what types of symptoms you experience, this type of head trauma may take some time before it heals – sometimes over a year or longer.
If you’ve suffered an auto collision that has caused whiplash or another kind of neck injury as discussed above and then go on to develop symptoms such as: headaches; loss of feeling in different parts of your body; trouble walking due to dizziness; problems with memory and concentration; personality changes like irritability or mood swings after several months without any improvement
Concussion
A concussion is a traumatic brain damage. It can be induced by a collision, blow, or jolt to the head that happens during the automobile accident. It may also be caused by the violent shaking of the head as a result of the impact. Loss of consciousness is not uncommon.
Herniated Disc
Herniated discs, as well as nerve damage, can be caused by vehicle collisions. A slipped or herniated disc can cause a pinched nerve, nerve impingement, radiculopathy, or chronic pain when related to the disc injury and nerve injury. It is not unusual for people who have been in automobile accidents to suffer with herniated discs.
The spinal column’s vertebrae protect the nerves that originate from the brain and form the spinal cord. Spinal bones are separated by disks. These little shell-shaped barrier cushions contain a liquid substance within them, which is known as a disk. The disks cushion the spine and provide space between the vertebrae. The disks enable movement between the vertebrae while also absorbing shock when a person walks. Physical trauma (such as car wrecks) may cause a disk to shift out of position (herniate) or break open (rupture). When this happens, there might be strain on the spinal cord nerves. This can produce pain, numbness, or weakness.
Medline Plus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (NIH), discusses common symptoms of herniated discs.
- Slipped disk pain that radiates into one area of the leg, hip, or buttock and numbness in other places are examples of lower back discomfort. A person might also feel unpleasant or numbness in the calf or sole of the foot. The same leg may be weak as well. The tingling feeling or pins and needles can range from mild to severe.
- Pain in the neck is typical after a slipped disk has occured. It can also affect the shoulder blade, deep pain near or over the shoulder blade, or pain that travels to the arm and hand. A person may also have numbness in their arm, forearm, and fingers.
In certain situations, a person may sense the disc herniation or rupture. It’s been compared to something exploding or slipping in the back or neck. Pain is generally felt immediately after impact. Auto accident victims, on the other hand, might not feel all of their pain immediately following a vehicle accident. The agony typically starts gradually and grows in intensity over time.
A herniated disc is not usually diagnosed in an emergency department by a specialist, who may often not discover a patient’s herniated disc right after an accident due to soft tissues such as spinal discs being invisible on X-rays. Before a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis, a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI) or computerized tomography scan (CT) must be completed. Individuals who have been in a vehicle accident and believe they might have a herniated disc should ask for an MRI while in the emergency department. Waiting too long might allow the insurance company involved to claim that the injury was not caused by the car accident.
A herniated disc can be very painful, and it might take several months for the pain to subside. It’s possible that you’ll need surgery or physical therapy if your herniated disc is severe enough. Treatment might be costly, and recovery time may be lengthy. Unfortunately, even with surgery, some people will never fully recover.
Those who have suffered a car accident and have a herniated or ruptured disc should contact an attorney as soon as possible to ensure that they are fairly compensated by the insurance company and/or the party responsible for the accident.
Whiplash
This is a soft-tissue injury that damages the tendons in the neck. According to Johns Hopkins, most whiplash injuries result from a collision that includes sudden acceleration or deceleration. Many whiplash injuries occur when you are involved in a rear-end automobile collision. They also happen as a result of a sports injury, particularly during contact sports.
These are the most common symptoms of “whiplash.” Neck discomfort, stiffness, shoulder pain, low back pain, dizziness, arm or hand pain, blurred vision, fatigue, numbness in your arm or hand, ringing in your ears, memory or attention issues , irritability, and difficulty sleeping are all signs of whiplash.
Spinal fracture
A spinal fracture is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a dislocation or break in the vertebrae (backbone) of the spine, which may occur at any point. The majority of spinal fractures are attributed to vehicle accidents, falls, sports activities, and other high-velocity impacts. Injuries resulting from these incidents can range from minor muscular and ligament strains to more serious fractures and spinal cord damage. Penn indicates that mild fractures of the spine can be treated with rest and medication, but more severe injuries might necessitate surgery to realign the bones. Spinal fractures that aren’t promptly treated may result in permanent spinal cord damage, nerve damage, and paralysis.
Here are some significant symptoms one might experience: Loss of urinary or bowel control, Tingling or numbness, back or neck pain, limb weakness or paralysis, loss of consciousness, muscle spams that cannot be controlled.
Spondylolisthesis
This is a long, hard to understand word. Although this condition can be caused by other conditions unrelated to trauma, traumatic spondylolisthesis happens when an injury causes vertebrae to slip.
What are the symptoms? According to Cleveland Clinic, you may not experience any symptoms of spondylolisthesis. Some people are unaware that they have it. If you experience symptoms, the most common one is lower back pain. The discomfort may extend to the buttocks and down the legs. When bending over, you may feel severe pain or numbness, weakness, or tingling in your foot.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is an illness in which open spaces inside the spine get reduced, putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. Spinal stenosis most often occurs in the neck (called cervical spinal stenosis) or lower back (known as lumbar canal stenosis). It is most common among people over 50 years old, although it can also happen in younger individuals. Symptoms might or may not appear depending on the location and degree of spine pressure. It can either be naturally occurring or caused by an accident.
As you can see the variety of injuries that can occur, it’s important to stay on top of your treatment and not let symptoms go. The costs of future medical treatment can be a major consideration and that is what we help our clients with. Please give us a call at (775)391-5131 (916)287-7157 to learn more about how we can help you.