Going through a car accident as a victim is no easy feat. After all, before it happened, the victim was probably living a normal, functional, and pain-free life. Since a car crash can happen in so many ways and affect people in even more, there's never any telling what kinds of issues a victim will suffer.
Many different kinds of injuries can occur and they can be the start of a spell of acute or chronic pain. Spinal cord injuries are perfect examples, and they can pop up in many forms. Today, the focus is on back pain after a car accident, where it may be coming from, and what should be done about the matter. An auto accident lawyer can be beneficial to handling all of the above.
What Areas of a Victim's Back May Be Injured From Car Accidents?
The first thing to understand about any spinal cord injury is that several different areas could be affected and how the issues may manifest can be very different. The back consists of different segments.
There's the cervical spine, which is the neck region, the thoracic spine, which is the upper back, and the lumbar zone, which is the lower back. Each area will have its own tendons, bones, ligaments, and muscles that it's connected to.
Note that the numbers of spinal bones, muscles, and nerve roots, respectively are 33, 32, and 31. Any back injury arising from motor vehicle accidents can affect just about any or all of these areas, and the effects can range from temporary to long-lasting.
With that being said, it's essential to note that injuries to the thoracic spine are a little less common, and this is because of the rigid structure in this area. Be that as it may, if there is an injury in this area, it's very severe because this is where the chest and ribs are connected to it. Therefore, a disruption can mean it becomes difficult to even breathe.
Understanding Common Car Accident Injuries to the Back
Now that the sites of a back or neck injury have been identified, it's time to look at some of the most common injuries that can arise in these areas.
Herniated Disc Injury
The impact of a car accident can cause the discs in the spine to shift. When this happens, nerves can be compressed, and this is where there is a herniated disc concern. This means that the inner part of the disc starts to push out through the outer ring. Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys also has information on the severity of a brain bleed from car accident.
Sometimes, terms such as "slipped disc" or "bulging disc" may be used to describe this phenomenon. In any case, the matter is quite severe. The protrusion rubs against nerves and this leads to numbness, weakness, or burning, which can extend throughout different regions of or the entire body.
Facet Joint Injuries
Between various spine bones, there are joints known as facet joints. Do not forget that the central nervous system relies on the spine. Nerve roots run through the joints and they go to different parts of the body including the limbs.
These joints are the reason that the human body can twist or bend in different ways without causing moderate or severe injuries to the spine.
When there is facet joint damage, quite a spell of pain can result.
Degenerative Spinal Disorder
When there is trauma to the spine from occurrences such as car accidents, this can lead to what is called a degenerative spinal disorder. This is a progressive occurrence meaning that the victim may not start to experience issues until months or years after the accident takes place.
Additionally, there are some health issues that people may have before accidents and these kinds of disorders can accelerate them. Here are some of the challenges that the damage and degeneration can lead to:
Spinal stenosis
Bone spurs
Degenerative scoliosis
Sciatica
Foraminal stenosis
Bulging discs
Herniated discs
Degenerative disc disease
Vertebrae Fractures
Whenever there is a break, crack, or other kind of damage in one or more vertebrae, it is known as a fracture. When someone's back is deemed to have been broken, this means that there is an injury to one of the 33 bones that make up the spinal cord. The different terms that doctors may use as they speak to fractures are as follows:
Flexion fracture - This is when there are fractures that occur in the posterior or middle columns
Burst fracture - This is when there are different parts of the vertebrae that are crushed and there may have been some level of bone fragment scattering.
Compression fracture - This is where there is too much pressure that has created small breaks or cracks in the bones.
Fracture-dislocation - In this case, any of the other fractures are combined with the movement or dislocation of one or more vertebrae.
What Are Some Symptoms of Back Injuries That May Arise from an Auto Accident?
When there are injuries to the back because of a car accident, some of the symptoms that a victim may face are as follows:
Burning pain
Muscle spasms
Tingling or numbness
Stiffness
Discomfort in walking or standing
Sharp pain
What Should Be Done When the Back Pain Begins to Kick in?
The best piece of advice someone suffering from any kind of back injuries can be given is to seek medical attention in the shortest possible order. This should be done by engaging an orthopedic specialist. If caused from an auto accident, Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys can explain how to counter the first car insurance offer.
Doing so will allow the ruling out of any issues, avoidance of activities that could worsen things, and getting the appropriate treatment, including surgery, if necessary. There may be a course of physical therapy recommended too, as a means of recovery.
Alternatively, there may not be much more than anti-inflammatory medicine or corticosteroid injections needed to help the victim.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Nashville Accident Attorney Today!
Back pain from damage to the spinal canal can be difficult to deal with after an accident. Whether it's moderate or severe pain, victims should be fairly compensated. Reach out to a passionate attorney in Nashville today at Scherger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys.
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