Neck Injuries Caused by Car Accidents

Neck pain is a common result from car accidents, regardless of the level of severity of the crash. In some cases, victims may not even realize how severe their injuries are. Perhaps their pain was delayed by hours (or days), or perhaps they chose not to seek medical attention right after the crash.

Any injury to the neck, however, has the potential for long-term risks. That’s why it’s so important to seek medical treatment as soon as you can after a car accident. You could have a more serious injury than you think.

Whiplash has a bad reputation, but it’s really a matter for concern

Whiplash is the most commonly discussed car accident injury. Despite this, it can be difficult to diagnose because it is an injury to the soft tissue in your body, which doesn’t appear on an X-ray. Whiplash occurs when your body is jolted forward as your head goes back when the vehicle is struck.

That type of strain on the muscle can cause rips and tears. Sometimes, they’ll heal up on their own; other times, they won’t. Undiagnosed and untreated whiplash can lead to chronic pain, which can then lead to more medical treatment than expected.

Discogenic injuries from car accidents

Common neck/spinal injuries car accident victims suffer include discogenic injuries. These injuries involve damage to spinal discs because of sudden trauma. Examples of these injuries include:

• Herniated discs
• Lumbar sprains
• Degenerative spinal disorders
• Spinal stenosis

These injuries are often treated using an anti-inflammatory medicine and physical therapy. If you are unable to find relief with either of these options, surgery could be on the table.

Common car accident neck injuries

A car accident injury involving the neck does not always stick to the neck, so to speak. You could suffer any of the following injuries to your neck or other areas of the body in a car accident:

• Soft tissue damage
• Muscle spasms
• Slipped discs
• Cracked vertebrae
• Pinched nerves
• Brain injuries
• Vocal cord damage
• Paresthesia (burning sensation of the skin)

Depending on the severity of the accident, you could wind up suffering more than just one of these neck injuries. In fact, one neck injury could wind up causing another on this list, making it imperative that you seek medical care immediately following a car accident.

Treating neck injuries

It can be challenging to recover from a neck injury suffered in a car accident. You might need to endure months of physical therapy, steroidal injections, discectomies, and many other treatments. Surgery is always an option if any other treatment methods do not relieve your pain. Discectomy is a surgical procedure that removes either part or the whole intervertebral disc that is putting pressure on the spinal cord or a nerve root.

Suffering a neck injury in a car accident can be crippling in more ways than one. The Memphis car accident attorneys from Bailey & Greer, PLLC, understand the various neck injuries you can suffer in a car accident. We fight to help you recover compensation for your injuries when someone else’s negligence led to the accident. Call our office at 901-475-7434 to schedule a free consultation or complete the contact form found online. Our offices in Memphis and Jackson help us serve clients throughout West Tennessee.