What Does Back Pain After a Car Accident Mean?

The speed and force involved in a car accident can wreak havoc on your body, especially on your neck and back. The human spine is meant to support mostly vertical pressure, but the horizontal stresses experienced during an auto accident can jolt or even fracture vertebrae.

If you are experiencing back pain and were recently involved in a motor vehicle accident, the two factors are likely related. And you might be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries.

Types of Delayed Pain

Pain after an accident is expected, but it should also be taken seriously, even if it’s delayed. Some minor aches and pains may be felt immediately, but they may flare up in a day or two. Some back injuries can take as long as a week to show themselves and may also indicate more serious problems.

Some delayed aches and pains related to back and neck injuries include the following:

• Headaches may be a sign of whiplash.
• Neck, shoulder, and back pain may be signs of whiplash, herniated discs, or other muscle or tissue injuries and may also include pinched nerves.
• Tingling sensations, numbness, pain, or weakness radiating down your arms or legs can mean a nerve is pinched or pressured by swollen or damaged spinal discs.

Types of Neck and Back Injuries

If you experience the aforementioned delayed pain, you need to get to the hospital quickly because even minor pain can be extremely serious. Minor aches and pains may be due to underlying and unseen damage to internal organs or your spine.

Some of the more common conditions that arise from neck and back injuries include the following:

• Whiplash is a common result of rear-end collisions because your head whips forward without anything but your neck to stop it.
• Spinal fractures are common in the middle and lower back after car accidents. The force of the impact can stretch and break parts of the spinal column, pieces of it possibly pressing or cutting into the spinal cord.
• Spondylolisthesis is a dislocated bone in your back.
• Herniated discs are common after car accidents because they absorb most of the impact that reaches your back.

Free Consultation

Contact a car accident lawyer from Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP to begin pursuing the compensation you deserve for your back injuries. Call us at 1-800-VICTIM2 (842-8462) or fill out the form below for a free consultation.