When you are in a car accident, whether it just be a basic fender bender or a more serious crash, it can put both your body and mind on high alert. Car accidents are stressful and confusing. The moments after you may be wondering what happened and how you were put in this situation.
Because your body will most likely have a surge of adrenaline going through it, you may not immediately notice a serious injury you may have suffered. There are powerful chemicals in your body that under stressful and intense situations can mask symptoms of a serious injury for days and maybe even weeks afterwards.
In the aftermath of an accident, you may find yourself outside of the car speaking to police and even witnesses to the accident. Though you may be dazed and sore, you may mistakenly take your movements and ability to speak with other people as a sign that you are not hurt that badly.
Here are a few of the injuries you can easily sustain in a car accident that may have a delayed reaction before you begin to notice its effects.
Whiplash – A whiplash is an injury to your neck that is most commonly suffered when you are hit from behind. The resulting jolt from a rear-end collision will fling your head back and body forward meaning your neck will be contorted in such a way to cause a major strain. Symptoms of a whiplash include headaches, neck pain, pain in the shoulders and arms, fatigue and dizziness. Whiplash can act the same as when you participate in an intense physical activity one day but feel its effects the day after. Except with whiplash, you will find it difficult to do any day-to-day chores since it is concentrated around your head and neck.
Concussion – A concussion is a traumatic brain injury suffered when your head suffers a major blow and causes your brain to shift and even come into contact with your skull. Concussions have been in the news a lot recently because of their prevalence in sports. Concussions are controversial in sports because many athletes continue to play even though they have suffered a concussion. This can be the same problem in a car accident. You may continue to live your life following a car accident and not even know you suffered a concussion. Going undiagnosed can be dangerous and cause lingering medical problems.
Back injuries – If you have ever dealt with back pain before, you know how excruciating it can be. Back pain will also limit the amount of movement you can do and may require you to spend extended time in recovery trying to make the pain go away.
All three of the ailments listed above can take time for symptoms to appear. The longer you go without treatment or care for each, the longer it will take to heal, and you may wind up having to deal with the pain for months instead of days. If you are in a car accident you should be looked at by a doctor as soon as you can. If you find you have more serious injuries than you first thought, you should also be in contact with a personal injury attorney who can assist you in getting any compensation you deserve.
