7 Worst Car Accident Injuries

Apr 27, 2022

7 Worst Car Accident InjuriesCar accidents are terrifying to experience and can result in a variety of injuries depending on the type of accident you are in. Unfortunately, car accidents occur every single day and are caused by bad weather, bad roads, bad car parts, bad drivers, or a combination of all of these conditions. Car accidents can leave you with injuries that range from scrapes and bruises to life-threatening and life-long damage.

Because injuries can vary so greatly, and because some issues don’t present with any symptoms until much later, it’s wise to seek out an experienced car accident chiropractor immediately if you’ve been in an accident. Here we’ll share our expert chiropractic knowledge as we review some of the worst car accident injuries we treat on a daily basis. Then, we’ll share how our comprehensive chiropractic care and physical therapy at AICA Atlanta can benefit you after a car crash.

Traumatic Brain Injuries Due to Head Trauma

During an accident, your body may come into contact forcibly with parts of the car like the steering wheel, window, or windshield. With direct or indirect contact during an accident, your brain can move around inside your skull enough to result in a brain injury. Brain injuries affect more than 3 million people each year, according to the Brain Injury Association. These traumatic brain injuries lead the list in being some of the most devastating injuries you could sustain during a car accident.

Some traumatic brain injuries are so severe that they result in permanent disability or impairment, and very little can be done to rehabilitate them. However, some brain injuries that are less severe can be treated, and the overall impact on your life can be mitigated if caught early on. Symptoms of head trauma do not always present themselves immediately following a car collision, so it’s important that you know the signs of head trauma and that you seek a car accident chiropractor or doctor immediately following the onset of symptoms. Symptoms of head trauma due to a car accident include headaches, difficulty sleeping, and problems with concentration or memory.

Facial Injuries

While facial injuries could still be head trauma, we’re categorizing them separately because when we refer to facial injuries, we’re not referring to brain trauma, although your face is obviously a part of your head. Facial injuries can be some of the most traumatic injuries to incur because most of us identify one another by our facial features. Car accidents that result in lacerations or significant damage to the face can lead to permanent scarring and/or disfigurement. Common facial injuries sustained in car accidents can be burns, fractures, or lacerations as a result of contact with airbags, the dashboard, steering wheel, windows, or windshield.

Facial injuries can be difficult to repair and take multiple procedures in order to correct. Because of the long healing process, in addition to physical pain, this can lead to intense and prolonged emotional trauma and depression.

Spinal Cord Injuries

With the exception of traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries can be some of the most devastating injuries sustained in car accidents. Spinal cord injuries have the potential to lead to paralysis, sometimes permanent and complete. Depending on the severity of the accident and the extent of the injuries, even if permanent or complete paralysis is avoided, many things can go wrong that can negatively affect the transmission of signals between the spinal cord and brain. Common injuries from car accidents include misplaced bone fragments, disc ruptures, or spinal cord tears. These injuries can result in a decreased function and feeling in your neck, back, arms, or legs.

Internal Organ Damage

Although potentially not as prominent or noticeable immediately following an accident, internal organ damage can be just as deadly and life-threatening as spinal cord injuries and head trauma. Internal organ damage often requires immediate medical attention to diagnose and treat properly. If not diagnosed quickly, internal organ damage can become deadly.

The two most common reasons for internal organ damage or internal bleeding are seatbelts and organ puncture. Seatbelts are undoubtedly life-saving instruments; however, during the impact of a car accident, seatbelts can get forcibly pressed into the abdomen. This impact can create lacerations on your organs. Additionally, the impact of accidents can cause other bones, namely ribs, to move or break, and this movement can puncture internal organs, leading to internal bleeding. Internal bleeding is challenging to stop and repair and can result in long-term damage to the organ or even death.

Back and Neck Injuries

Different from cervical spinal cord injuries, many different types of injuries can occur to the lower back. Car accidents are notorious for causing sprains, strains, and herniated discs in the lower back that can lead to ongoing back and neck injuries. Whiplash is probably the most commonly experienced and known neck and back injury related to car accidents. As anyone who has experienced whiplash knows, this can be an ongoing and painful injury that comes with varying degrees of mobility impairment.

Often these types of injuries can occur from direct impact from things like seatbelts, car doors, steering wheels, or windows, but neck and back injuries can also come from indirect impact. Cervical dislocation or disc injuries often occur because of these direct and indirect impacts, and the effects can be ongoing and painful, resulting in the need for chiropractic care and physical therapy for some time.

Broken Bones

Because of the many different ways a car accident can create impact or pressure on your body, broken bones are a common injury sustained during car accidents. Some of the most common broken bones in car accidents are hands, arms, legs, wrists, hips, and shoulders. These are all typically affected by the force of impact or pressure from the vehicle being compressed.

In addition to the healing needed for broken bones, we mentioned earlier that some broken bones, like ribs, can lead to additional injuries beyond the broken bone. So, in addition to the long period of rest and healing needed for ribs and other broken bones, there can be further healing needed for additional injuries.

Emotional Injuries

Regardless of the extent of your injuries after a car accident, some of the worst injuries sustained after car accidents are unseen. Emotional damage can affect people after a car accident for a long time, especially if there were other people involved in an accident. This type of injury often presents as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. If you’re experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from your car accident, you may be experiencing stress from previously non-stressful events or tasks. Flashbacks and difficulty sleeping are also typical signs of emotional distress.

Emotional distress can be much more difficult to diagnose but is no less important to address. Seeking treatment for emotional distress following an accident is crucial as these symptoms can often get worse without treatment. Emotional distress can also affect the entire body, manifesting in tension and stress commonly found in the neck and back.

Chiropractic Care for Car Accident Injuries

Car accidents are common and happen every day, which means at AICA Atlanta, we see car accident injuries every day. It’s important to seek care as soon as possible after an accident because some injuries won’t manifest until hours or days later, and this can lead to ongoing, worsening injuries or chronic pain and suffering. We want to see you when your problems are small so they do not develop into larger problems.

Auto accidents can affect every part of the body, and at AICA Atlanta, our staff is committed to your entire wellbeing. Our experienced team is well-versed in assessing and treating car accident injuries and walking you through every step of the process when getting evaluated after a car accident. We understand that this time following a car accident can be physically painful as well as emotionally stressful. From dealing with pain to insurance companies to potentially being unable to work, car accidents create major life disruptions.

Through safe and effective chiropractic care, our staff can help provide relief from injury pain as well as help relieve stress or tension caused by the emotional response to the car accident. If you’ve been in a car accident, your road to recovery goes beyond chiropractic care, as does our ability to provide you with specialized care and advice. We’re well versed in dealing with insurance companies and attorneys following car accident injuries. We deal with both insurance companies and lawyers every day and are happy to provide guidance as needed to connect you to the right people so you can experience holistic healing and peace of mind from your car accident. The committed and compassionate AICA Atlanta staff are happy to assist in getting you back on your feet. No matter if your accident was a fender bender or a total loss case, our auto accident chiropractors will be with you every step of the way to get you on the road to recovery.

 

 

 

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