How Long Should You Be Sore After a Motor Vehicle Accident?

How Long Should You Be Sore After a Motor Vehicle Accident? When someone is involved in a car accident, they can experience a wide range of emotions, including anger, fear, grief, uncertainty, and worry, as well as pain. However, unlike the rush of feelings that can flood your system instantly following a collision, pain can take a few days to show up, and even worse, it can last for quite a long time. Even though pain is a common experience following a motor vehicle collision, many people don't know what is normal and what type of pain requires medical attention. Some victims also start to worry when their pain and soreness lasts for weeks. In this blog post, we will guide you through some of these concerns by going over the different degrees of soreness you may experience after a car accident and what you can do about it.

Symptoms You Can Expect Immediately Following a Car Accident

Many people assume that if their injuries are severe, they will experience significant pain right after a motor vehicle accident. But it does not always happen this way. After a vehicle accident, it is not unusual to not feel much pain. Instead, the adrenaline that flooded your system during the collision may just leave you feeling shaken up. It can sometimes take a few days for pain or other injury-related symptoms to start to manifest. That is why it is critical that even if you do not see or feel any symptoms following your car accident, go and get examined by a doctor right away. A medical professional can verify that you do not have any serious hidden injuries such as a traumatic brain injury or internal bleeding that have not yet become apparent, and can start you on a course of treatment right away if necessary. Plus, delaying treatment for a severe injury can end up substantially impacting your car accident claim and the amount of damages you ultimately obtain. If you do not receive immediate medical care, the defense may argue that your injuries are not that severe or they resulted from a subsequent event or a pre-existing condition.

Soreness After a Car Accident: Is It Serious?

If your car accident does not result in any severe injuries, you may still experience different degrees of soreness. Sometimes this soreness will get better within a few days. Other times the soreness can be more severe and last longer than eight weeks. Depending on your pain, your doctor may recommend that you try over-the-counter pain relievers to help reduce some of this discomfort. Or, if need be, they can prescribe something more potent. To verify the degree of your injury, which can help your doctor understand the severity of your pain, they may perform a variety of medical tests, including:

• X-rays;
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); and
• Range of motion tests.

Discussing your soreness with your doctor can help your physician track your symptoms and ensure that you are healing as expected. If the soreness does not let up within a reasonable time, they may have you go in for further testing or physical therapy.

What Types of Car Accident Injuries Cause Soreness?

Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries that results in soreness. Whiplash happens when a sudden impact or jolt stretches and strains the tendons in the neck and shoulder beyond their capacity. Although this is the most common car accident injury, it is not the only one that causes soreness following a motor vehicle accident. Other injuries that result in soreness include:

• Broken bones;
• Soft tissue injuries;
• Torn ligaments;
• Sprained tendons;
• Strained joints;
• Disc injuries; and
• Back injuries.

Following a car accident, you should seek prompt medical care. Not only can delaying medical treatment impact your injury claim, but it can also end up making your condition worse, prolonging the pain and soreness you experience.

What Types of Treatments Help With Soreness?

Frequently, car accident victims continue to experience soreness for a significant time. At first, their doctor may advise them to try standard pain relievers to see if symptoms ease. If those do not work, a doctor may recommend additional treatments. These recommendations will depend on the type of injury the victim suffered. For instance, if an individual is experiencing soreness because of whiplash, treatments may include:

• Hot therapy and cold therapy;
• Physical therapy exercises;
• Massages; and
• Chiropractic adjustment.

In general, victims of car accident-related soreness will recuperate with time. However, this does not take away from the fact that long-lasting pain may prevent car accident victims from living the life they wanted. Pain and soreness can have disastrous effects on a person’s wellbeing, limiting the victim’s activities such as their ability to work, hang out with family, drive, or perform other normal daily functions. If a motor vehicle accident injured you, work with an experienced car accident attorney who can help you fight for the compensation you need for the pain and suffering you have had to endure.

Fight for Your Rights: Contact an Experienced Car Accident Attorney Today

If you or a loved one were injured in a motor vehicle accident, you deserve legal help you can count on. Speaking with a knowledgeable car accident attorney can ensure you get this help. A lawyer can:

• Answer any questions you have about your claim while helping you figure out what legal options you can pursue;
• Help you prove how much pain you experienced because of the car accident and show how it has interfered with your life;
• Investigate the motor vehicle accident and gather critical evidence to show what happened and who was at fault;
• Handle all the negotiations and discussions with the insurance company; and
• If needed, take your case to trial to fight for maximum compensation.

Do not wait any longer. Contact an experienced car accident attorney today to get help fighting for the justice you deserve.

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