Back pain after a car accident can be a sign of a serious injury. Most often, back pain results from whiplash, rib fracture, spinal cord injury, or disc herniation. While you may not experience back pain immediately afterwards, failing to get it properly treated could lead to a chronic condition.

Back Pain After a Car Accident Can Be a Sign of Underlying Injuries

Car accidents of any kind, from high-speed to minor collisions, can take a toll on your back and spinal cord. But it’s tough to tell the difference between a mild muscle strain and a more severe injury. Because of this, it’s important to seek medical treatment after a car crash, regardless of how bad it was. The only proper way to diagnosis a back injury is through diagnostic testing, CT scans, and x-rays.

Herniated Discs

Within your spine are soft cushions called disks. These disks are made up of a jellylike center which help to protect the spine. When that soft center cracks through the tougher exterior, the disks become herniated. Typically, a herniated disk initially causes little to no symptoms. However, some car accident victims may experience sudden lower back pain accompanied by numbness in their legs or arms.

Bulging Discs

Sometimes confused with a herniated disk, bulging disks are the result of an abnormal bulging of the disk from its location. In turn, this bulging compresses nerves and results in pain that a victim typically feels after the accident.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Injuries to the spinal cord are often the result of high-velocity accidents that bruise or creates pressure against the spine. Any damage to your spinal cord is very serious and should be treated as soon as possible. Victims of a spinal cord injury may go on to experience long-term disabilities, as well as host of other medical problems, such as clots, infections, and spinal fluid leaks. Symptoms of a spinal cord injury includes paralysis and loss of feeling or motor control.

Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most common types of injury during a car accident. Essentially, whiplash causes a sudden jerking of you head from one position to another. During this jerking, vital tendons and ligaments within your neck are damaged. While whiplash is more commonly a neck injury, it is not uncommon for a victim to experience lower back pain as well. This is typically a result of the development of small fractures of facet joints after the spine curves in hyperextension during the collision.

Compression Fractures

Compression fractures are the result of your body being thrown forward with intensity while being held in place by a seatbelt. Your vertebrae then becomes dislodged or fractured. Pain from this type of fracture is typically felt in the middle to lower back and worsens with movement. You may also experience a loss of bowel and bladder control.

Upper Back Injuries

Upper back injuries during a car accident can result from a number of causes. One common cause is from the bruising and injury of back muscles when your back slams back against the car seat. In addition, you may also experience shooting pain radiating from the middle of your back due to an impinged nerve.

Blunt Force Trauma

Blunt force trauma can also lead to small fractures of your spine. If left untreated, these broken pieces of bone fragments can grate against each other and cause extreme pain.

Speak to a San Antonio Car Accident Lawyer Today

Suffering from back pain after a car accident can leave you feeling hopeless. You may have to take time off from work to undergo expensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. Even worse, if your injury isn’t properly treated, you could spend the rest of your life with a debilitating condition.

Start the road to recovery by obtaining the compensation that you deserve. Speak to an experienced San Antonio car accident attorney at Brylak Law to learn how we can help.