Take Action When You Have Back Pain After a Car Accident

The worst thing about back pain after a car accident is that you may not notice it right away. By the time that dull ache morphs into take-your-breath-away agony, you might be outside the vital window to report it as a result of the wreck.

The time to take action to address back pain after a car accident is before liability is determined and the insurance companies have settled. Otherwise, you could be paying tens of thousands of dollars out of your own pocket for treatment and recovery expenses.

Be Aware of Symptoms

In the adrenaline rush, you might miss subtle symptoms that later manifest as severe back pain after a car accident.

• Numbness and tingling in your hands, feet, arms, leg, or face.
• Muscle weakness.
• Shooting or “zinging” sensations down your legs.

Pain Can Travel

With three distinct regions (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) and a complicated structure of vertebrae, discs, muscles, tendons, and nerves, the site of the injury may be hard to pin down, particularly if pains are shooting to other areas of your body. Some common injuries that cause back pain after a car accident include:

• Damaged discs between the vertebrae, which can press on sensitive nerves.
• Soft tissue damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
• Fractured vertebrae that may not always cause paralysis but will cause pain.
• Torsion injuries to bones and soft tissues due to the twisting forces of an impact.

What Should You Do?

Don’t wait out minor symptoms, hoping they’ll go away. See your doctor for diagnostic tests such as:

• CT (CAT) scan.
• MRI.
• X-rays.

The quicker you begin treatment for back pain after a car accident, the better. Hopefully, rest and anti-inflammatory medications will do the job, but if you need more intense treatment and end up missing work, the evidence you’ve gathered since day one can help an experienced San Antonio personal injury attorney to get the compensation you deserve to cover your expenses.