Auto accidents can be painful and traumatic experiences. While some auto accident injuries, such as hard-tissue injuries and burns, are evident from the look of it, certain injuries are not so apparent immediately after the crash.
It’s likely that you have suffered hidden injuries, but they can be highly detrimental nevertheless. If you have been in an auto accident, here are some hidden injuries to look out for. It’s vital that you have yourself checked by Miami accident clinic Icon Medical after an accident, even if you think you are completely fine.
5 Hidden Injuries To Watch Out For After An Auto Accident
Soft tissue injuries
Soft-tissue injuries are more challenging to notice than hard-tissue injuries. Mainly because, at times, victims don’t feel the latter immediately. Such injuries could include sprains, muscle strains, and tendon injuries. In the case of soft-tissue injuries, you’d feel pain, stiffness, or soreness in the affected region. To avoid chronic pain from such injuries, consult a professional on time.
Concussion
Concussions are yet another common and dangerous auto accident injury that may not be obvious at first. These symptoms are delayed and don’t always manifest in lost consciousness. Some concussion symptoms you would experience are headaches, nausea, confusion, dizziness, fatigue, ringing in the ears, inability to recall the accident, etc.
Whiplash
Whiplash is a neck injury that occurs when your neck experiences a sudden back-and-forth motion and ends up affecting the tendons and the muscles in the neck. The pain from whiplash may not become evident right after the accident, which is why it is another painful hidden injury that you should look out for. If you fail to address whiplash injuries by speaking to a professional, you’d feel the impact of the injury for weeks, months, and at times, even years.
Back injuries
Auto accidents could also lead to spinal cord injury. A herniated disk is quite a common spinal cord injury. Other back injuries that are fairly common after an auto accident are spinal cord fractures, nerve damage, and spinal concussion. Severe as they may be, their symptoms may not become apparent immediately after the crash.
The injury could often result in bleeding and swelling in and around your spinal cord, which could lead to the numbness that can have a gradual impact on your body. To avoid this kind of injury taking a serious toll on your body, it’s best to speak to a doctor as soon as you are able to after the accident.
Internal injuries
Auto accidents could also cause internal bleeding, which may not be noticeable immediately, but the effects of which would show up gradually. It could also be life-threatening, so it’s advised to see a doctor before giving the injury a chance to drive you into a severe condition.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Apart from physical injuries, victims of auto accidents could also suffer from mental health issues, which should not be undermined at all. Being in the center of a catastrophic crash can often take a toll on the victim’s mental state and lead to mental health disorders like PTSD. The symptoms of this condition are depression, flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, etc.
The bottom line is that even if you feel “fine” after an auto accident, it’s important to schedule an appointment with an accident clinic and get yourself checked by a medical professional anyway. You could be experiencing a delayed reaction, and you won’t even know it until it’s too late.
