What to Do About Lower Back Pain After a Car Accident

After a wreck, it is normal to have soreness throughout your body. Lower back pain after a car accident is common, but many injuries fade away after resting for a few weeks. However, some lower back injuries may persist and cause daily pain that prevents you from living your life. Head-on, rear, and side-impact collisions cause most injuries, but even minor incidents can impact your mobility or cause chronic pain. Let’s look at what to do about lower back pain after a car accident.

Why Should I Expect After a Car Accident?

According to NY Spine Specialist, “Back sprains and strains are quite common after automobile accidents. The impact of the accident could cause you to twist or turn, stretching your tendons or muscles beyond capacity. If this happens, you’ll notice that your pain worsens when you move, and you might have muscle spasms or cramps.

Rest, icing your injury, and heating your injury can help you heal. Painkillers such as ibuprofen can reduce inflammation, while gentle stretching and massage can also help your body recover. 

Most of the pain you feel immediately following an accident should dissipate a couple of days after the accident. The soft tissues in your lower back begin to heal while inflammation fades and recovery begins. However, in many cases, pain from a car accident doesn’t fade until 6 weeks to 3 months after the wreck.

Types of pain include:

• Muscle spasms: Twitching muscles and hard knots
• Burning pain: Searing or aching pain moving down your back and one or both legs
• Stiffness: Inflexible muscles   
• Pain: Sharp or mild pain when you move 
• Tingling or numbness: tingling or numbness in your legs, feet, arms, or hands (1)

Don’t Tough It Out

Even if you think your injuries will fade with time and rest, it is crucial to see medical professionals and get on the path to healing early on. Reasons to see your doctor early on include:

• Chronic Pain: Prevent injury from turning into a chronic pain syndrome. Anytime you face daily pain, go ahead and see a medical professional such as an orthopedic doctor to mitigate a daily chronic pain struggle.
• Addiction: Some medications can cause addiction or refractory pain syndromes resulting in daily chronic pain. Always take care of yourself with professional help early on if you’re in pain. Don’t wait until you’ve been popping pain pills daily for a month or end up with a frozen shoulder.
• Insurance Settlements: Additionally, working with insurance companies for a monetary settlement is easier if you seek help early on. Waiting to see a medical professional about your pain can send a message that you didn’t suffer injury in the accident.  

Lower Back Injuries

The violent motion of a car accident can sprain, fracture, strain, or similarly injure the body parts in your neck, spinal cord, and back. According to Alexander Orthopaedics, common lower back injuries you could face after a car accident include:

• Lumbar or thoracic vertebrae fractures
• Back sprains and strains
• Herniated discs
• Spondylolisthesis 
• Facet joint injuries 
• Discogenic pain
• Degenerative spinal disorders:

Paying for Medical Attention

If you suffer a minor back injury in a car accident that’s not your fault, you may expect to receive a settlement from the at-fault person’s insurance company. This settlement depends on your lost wages, property damage, bodily injury, and medical treatment costs. Depending on the extent of the accident, you could expect to receive anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 from the at-fault person’s insurance company for a minor injury.

Extensive life-altering injuries may receive more compensation. If you receive compensation for pain and suffering or potential life-long medical or pain conditions, your settlement could be much more significant. 

Working with a personal injury attorney can help you get the settlement you deserve. Insurance companies are not on your side, but your attorney works for you specifically. Having a knowledgeable legal professional can help you find a way to pay for the treatments you need.

We Can Help

At Jarrett Law, we understand that your accident altered your life in ways you never wanted or expected. It is your right to seek medical treatment until you find help for pain or chronic debilitating injuries. We work to ensure that insurance companies and others hear your voice in negotiations. Our focus is to get a settlement that covers your pain and suffering, but we are ready to fight for your rights in a court of law if necessary. Contact us today to find out how we can help you. 

 

Footnotes

1.https://alexanderorthopaedics.com/blog/common-back-injuries-from-a-car-accident/