After being in a car accident, one of the first things you may do is look for any signs of injury in yourself and others involved. If you don’t see or feel anything, you may think you’ve been lucky enough to walk away unharmed. While this is certainly better than noticing immediate problems, many car accident injuries may not be obvious right away. In fact, many common injuries have delayed symptoms and do not become apparent for hours or even days after the accident has occurred. As our bodies react to the accident, we may experience a surge of adrenaline or shock that hides these car accident injuries, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t present.
It is important to treat these conditions as soon as possible, even before symptoms begin. Read on to learn about some of the injuries where a delay like this may be common.
1. Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries experienced across the board. It occurs when your car is impacted and the body jolts forward and then back again quickly, led by the head. This unnatural speed and movement can stretch and strain the tendons in the neck and shoulders beyond their normal capacity and causing damage.
In some cases, a person will notice whiplash pain and symptoms immediately. However, it is much more common for the symptoms of whiplash to appear the next day or even a few days after the fact. Symptoms include not only pain in the neck and shoulders, but stiffness or trouble moving, headaches, and even blurred vision.
Whiplash is usually able to be completely resolved, but immediate whiplash treatment is helpful in preventing any movements or activities that may worsen the condition.
2. Concussion
A form of mild traumatic brain injury, a concussion occurs when there is a strike to the head. This can mean the head hits against a hard surface, like the dashboard or window of your car, or that a strong enough movement causes the brain to move and strike the skull from the inside. Concussions can be hard to self-identify, especially when there is no outside indication of the blow to the head, but they can be serious or even life-threatening in some cases.
Symptoms of a concussion include headaches after an accident, dizziness, mood swings, trouble sleeping or concentrating, and sensitivity to lights and sound. Even without any of these symptoms, every car accident victim should be evaluated for a concussion to prevent cases where it can be more serious or require additional monitoring and treatment.
3. Internal Bleeding
While seatbelts save lives every day, there are also ways they can cause injuries, like if they dig into the abdomen harshly. Injuries like this can lead to internal bleeding that is impossible to identify right away or externally. However, internal bleeding usually becomes serious over time and can even be fatal. Any abdominal pain is an indication of internal bleeding, along with bruising, dizziness, or fainting.
4. Blood Clots
Blood clots can occur as the body’s reaction to other car accident injuries and are themselves not always harmful as the body can resolve them. But if they reach the heart or the brain, a blood clot can cause serious injury or death. If a blood clot is coming close to the brain, you may experience headaches along with other concussion symptoms. This almost always occurs days after the original event.
5. Back Injuries
The force of a car accident can often impact the spine, leading to injuries like herniated discs, strains, or even fractures. Some back injuries cause mild discomfort while others can be debilitating in nature. Something as simple as a vertebra becoming misaligned can be enough to impact your life significantly if pressure is placed on the nerves surrounding the spinal cord, leading to a numb or tingling sensation that radiates throughout the body.
Most back injuries cause back pain that is accompanied by other symptoms that can help pinpoint the cause of the injury. For example, tingling sensations in the back or legs may indicate a pinched nerve caused by a herniated disc. Bruising, weakness, difficulty breathing or balancing, headaches, and loss of bladder or bowel control can be indications that the spine needs attention.
6. Emotional Injuries
Just like the body is subject to car accident injuries, so is the mind. Many people are traumatized by the experience of a car accident to the point that they begin to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. You may notice changes in mood or behavior over time that indicate PTSD, depression, or anxiety. These symptoms should be treated seriously just like physical injuries.
