Driving is a major part of today’s society. Whether it’s your daily commute to work, going on family outings or taking that long-awaited road trip, more and more Americans get around in cars. It’s no secret driving is dangerous, and every time you get behind the wheel, you have to take it seriously, maintaining the safest driving practices to protect yourself and other drivers on the road. However, life doesn’t always go as planned, and car accidents can happen out of nowhere. If you find yourself working with a Fort Collins auto accident lawyer because you were hit by another driver, you may have some delayed health effects you shouldn’t ignore. Here are three symptoms that could develop following a car accident.
1. Headaches
This is a more common side effect that comes with the stress and high-intensity pressure associated with car wrecks. It isn’t unusual if you have headaches a few days or weeks after the crash. However, you do want to keep an eye on your headaches. If they persist or start getting worse, you should contact a medical professional. It could be a sign of a blood clot in the brain, an upper body injury or serious swelling of the brain caused by a concussion. Taking account of minor changes and developments in your body following an accident is key to ensuring you’ll heal properly.
2. Neck and Shoulder Stiffness
Whiplash in car wrecks is very real and can leave your body impacted for weeks to come. The car that hits you doesn’t even have to be driving that fast to leave you soar, achy and stiff all over. A car traveling 14 miles per hour will cause whiplash symptoms, and the effect only worsens as speeds increase. Try using heat compresses, soaking in warm bath water and Epsom salts or talking with a masseuse or doctor if your soarness is unbearable. While it won’t go away overnight, you can look for practices that will start to reduce the effects quicker.
3. Back Pain
This is especially common if you’re rear ended in an auto accident because so much pressure from the other vehicle is absorbed by your back. Low-back pain is especially common and may require you to visit a back doctor for further X-ray inspection. Prolonged pain in your back could mean you injured many parts of your body such as the muscles, ligaments, nerves or vertebrae. A chiropractor may have to reset or work out kinks that developed to get you back on track and feeling like yourself again.
No one wants to plan for a car accident, but they happen every day. Statistics show there are over 16,000 car accidents a day that add up to over 6 million wrecks per year. A lawyer can help you fight for compensation if you were wrongly hit and experiencing significant repercussions from the accident. Making sure you watch your body after an accident is a key step in proper healing. The more detailed you are with your recovery, the quicker you can return to life as normal.
