How Long Will I be Sore After a Car Accident?
A car accident can lead to a variety of physical injuries, from broken bones to bumps and bruises. If you have recently been in a car crash, you may still be sore and wondering how long you can expect to be in pain.
The length of time you will be sore may depend on the severity of the car accident injuries you have suffered. If your injuries were serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctor, emergency room, or urgent care center, you may wonder how long you can expect to be in pain. This is a question that, unfortunately, resists definite answers.
Duration of Pain and Soreness
The duration of your pain and soreness will be a function of the nature of the car accident injury. If you sustained a temporary muscle strain, the duration of pain and limitation of movement can be a matter of weeks or months. If the impact of the collision caused you to sustain damage to your intervertebral discs, you could be looking at a long period of recuperation. Indeed, it is possible that you will never truly recover from your injuries, and you will be forced to deal with ongoing limitations for life. This is not an exact science, as your doctor will likely advise you.
Identify the Severity of Your Injuries
Square one is identifying the nature of your car accident injuries, which will often require diagnostic imaging studies and other reliable medical tests. Once the nature of your injury has been identified—i.e., your diagnosis—your doctor may be in a better position to advise you how long your symptoms will last. This is called a prognosis.
While most people are familiar with how devastating a major car accident can be, they are less familiar with issues that can arise from a seemingly minor car crash. For instance, a minor rear-end car accident, which causes no physical damage to the vehicles involved, could lead to whiplash.
Whiplash occurs when the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the neck are hyperextended or stretched out during the impact of a car crash. It can be hard to tell that you have a whiplash injury until you start going through the tasks of everyday life. Along with a headache, other symptoms of whiplash can include blurred or double vision, fatigue, pain in the shoulder, neck or head, stiff and sore muscles, and restricted range of motion. Whiplash can lead to weeks or months of pain and disability.
Factors of Injury Severity
Several factors can play into the type of injury you sustain after a car accident. First, if you have a preexisting medical condition, that may predispose you to a more serious injury, resulting in a longer recovery phase.
Some people believe that property damage to involved vehicles is a proxy for the force of impact felt by their occupants, but this is not necessarily true. Motor vehicle accidents resulting in “minor” property damage can cause immense injuries. This is because car fenders are meant to protect the integrity of the vehicle, not necessarily to reduce the force of impact for car occupants. Even if you were able to drive away from the scene of the accident and felt no symptoms at that time, it is not unusual for debilitating symptoms to begin hours or even days following a car crash.
Injured In A Car Accident? Call William Mattar.
If you have suffered from pain and soreness after a car crash, you may have options in terms of paying for medical bills and receiving compensation for your pain. At William Mattar law offices, our injury lawyers will be able to look at your case and determine what options you have. Contact our car accident lawyers to file a claim today at 844-444-4444.