Why Pain Sustained After an Auto Accident is Often Delayed

Auto collisions are among the leading cause of injury and death in the U.S., with over 5 million collisions in 2020 alone, and 30% of those ending in injuries. Speeding and drunken driving are often the cause of collisions, with DUI (driving under the influence) leading to 35% of fatal motor vehicle accidents in that year.

Whatever reason you find yourself in a car accident, injuries are common. Even if you don’t feel any immediate pain, you may experience it days after it happens. To find out why pain from an accident may have a delayed response, let’s examine the types of injuries you may have after being in one, the reasons for the delay, and how our treatment options can help you.

If you live in the University Place, Washington, area and are struggling with delayed pain after an accident, Dr. Peter Atkins and his dedicated medical staff at Atkins Chiropractic can help.

Types injuries incurred in an auto accident

The impact of a collision can lead to damage to the body and can be broadly broken down into impact (harm from slamming into a part of the car) or penetration (an object striking your body) injuries. Here are some common examples:

• Spinal cord injuries: Damage to your spinal cord can limit mobility and even lead to paralysis.

• Concussion: Often a mild form of traumatic brain injury, a concussion can affect your balance, memory, mood, and sleep and lead to headaches.

• Whiplash: This is a common problem in accidents, resulting from the jerking motion your body makes snapping back and forward quickly and straining the neck muscles.

• Sprains and strains: If you’re holding on to something or trying to lessen the impact of a crash, you could strain your ligaments or tendons.
• Fractures: Damage to bones is common, ranging from mild fractures to severe breaks, depending on the impact.

Reasons for a delayed pain response

Certain injuries are evident right away, such as most penetrating injuries or broken bones, but soft tissue injuries can be harder to spot and may not hurt right away. With soft tissue, delays may happen because pain may not set in until after the injury starts to swell and bruise, which may take days or weeks. To further complicate things, these types of injuries can be tricky to detect using digital imaging until pain and other symptoms form.

If you’ve been in an accident and pain starts to set in days or weeks after the event, get medical attention right away to get it treated and to prevent it from becoming a chronic condition if possible.

Treatment options

With our chiropractic care, we can help you deal with a variety of injuries that come from accidents, including spinal misalignments, whiplash, neck and back pain, muscle strains, and a range of other soft tissue injuries. We offer several solutions for these issues, such as spinal adjustments, spinal decompression therapy, cold laser therapy, electrical stimulation, and therapeutic exercises.

If the pain from an auto collision injury doesn’t present itself right away, it still needs to be treated, so call or send a message and make an appointment with Dr. Atkins and his team at Atkins Chiropractic today to start healing.