One of the most common forms of a car accident is when your car is hit from behind, typically at a low speed, known as a rear-end collision. The good news is that these accidents usually result in minor damage to both vehicles and more mild injuries than other forms of crashes. However, there are cases where a rear-end collision can be serious or even fatal for those involved. Injuries like whiplash and concussions commonly occur in a rear-end collision and can often be overlooked in the aftermath of the accident. Whether you feel like anything is wrong or not, it can be important to seek medical care after any rear-end collision to ensure you don’t have any hidden car accident injuries.
Some Symptoms May Be Delayed
If you’ve recently been in a rear-end collision, you may think you’ve gotten lucky and managed to walk away with no injuries. In fact, you might feel even better than usual. But this can be a result of the body’s response to stress, as hormones are released that are designed to keep you going. Adrenaline and other similar endorphins are released in times of anxiety and can cover up pain from even severe injuries for hours or days at a time. Despite feeling no symptoms, there may still be injuries that occurred and are causing damage to your body without you knowing.
If first responders are called to your accident site, they will likely do an initial evaluation to look for anything obvious or life-threatening at the time, but they won’t be able to perform imaging or the thorough exam of a car accident doctor. This means they may miss injuries that aren’t visible or have not begun to cause symptoms yet.
Common Injuries in a Rear-End Collision
The most common rear-end collisions occur when your car is stopped or moving at a very slow speed, the impact often causes the body to move or jolt in unnatural ways. When this happens, the spine, spinal cord, back, neck, bones, and brain are all vulnerable to being injured as a result of the sudden movement. Whiplash, concussions, and other common injuries all occur in this manner and are the most likely to have symptoms that are delayed.
As the most common injury from a rear-end collision, whiplash is directly connected to this unnatural movement. When the head and neck are violently thrown backward and forward, the soft tissues in the surrounding area can be stretched beyond their normal capability, causing small strains and tears in the tissue. Whiplash can cause neck pain and stiffness, or even a lack of mobility, but usually can be treated so that symptoms are resolved in a matter of weeks from the time they appear.
The same back and forth movement that causes whiplash can also cause a mild form of traumatic brain injury known as a concussion. Concussions can occur when the head hits a hard surface or when the brain is jostled and hits against the skull during movement. Though this is a mild injury, it can worsen if left untreated and cause more serious problems.
Other common injuries include internal bleeding and organ damage, broken bones, spinal damage, and surface skin injuries like burns.
The Importance of Visiting a Car Accident Clinic
Even if you feel okay after your accident, the best thing you can do is visit a car accident specialist for a thorough evaluation. These doctors will be able to perform imaging that can reveal any hidden injuries and perform exams that may help them diagnose you earlier. This diagnosis will mean that you can begin treatment immediately and prevent your injuries from worsening during the time you don’t know about them. Additionally, this will create a formal medical record of your injuries that ties them to your accident which may come in handy for any insurance claims or legal proceedings you are later involved in.
With injuries like whiplash, an untreated injury can quickly become much more serious. If you don’t realize you have something like whiplash and continue trying to live as normal, you may further stretch and irritate the tissue and worsen the condition. A physical therapist will be able to guide your movements so you can get around while not causing more harm to your body. Visiting a doctor as soon as possible helps you prevent future injuries and heal faster.
