Frequency of motor vehicle accidents and common pain complaints
According to the Alberta Traffic Collision Summary 2021, there were 100, 231 collisions recorded on Alberta roadways. That is just under 275 collisions per day! Motor vehicle accidents are a very common occurrence and can range in severity. It's common to feel pain after an accident, pain that people may experience after a car accident may include but are not limited to issues such as headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, back pain, leg pain. These issues can be very debilitating, and can be difficult to navigate on your own. Consider booking an appointment with us at REP Physio in Edmonton, and we can work with you to improve your symptoms.
You're experiencing pain after a car accident: what to do
We will discuss in this section some of the first steps you should take if you are experiencing pain after a car accident.
1) Rule out any more concerning symptoms. We will touch on this more later in this article, but if you are experiencing symptoms such as difficulty breathing, speaking or swallowing or if you are experiencing a headache that is getting progressively worse, you should seek out immediate medical attention.
2) Reach out to your insurance company and have them provide you information so you can better understand the treatment that you are entitled to. You are covered by your car insurance to see a variety of healthcare professionals for treatment including physiotherapy regardless of fault for up to 2 years.
3) Follow up with your family doctor or a walk in clinic so that they can check for any internal injuries, provide pain medicine and check for any other physical injuries to be sure there aren't any barriers to come to a physiotherapist.
4) Book a visit with a physiotherapist! Here at REP Physio, we are very experienced with treating clients who are dealing with pain after a car accident and will work with you to relieve your symptoms and get you back to your normal activities.
Remember, you have the right to choose which physiotherapist or clinic you see for car accident injuries. You are under no obligation to see the clinic recommended by your car insurance company, just as you can choose which body shop you want to have repair your car.
Common injuries after a car accident
There are many different injuries people can sustain from a motor vehicle accident. Pain after a crash can be complex and does not always manifest the same way. Pain often times will show up right away but other times, people experience delayed pain where their pain does not present until weeks after the accident. There are many different injuries that people can sustain after an accident, we will discuss some of the more common injuries below.
One common cause for pain after an accident is a whiplash injury. A whiplash injury is when the neck or spine goes through a rapid, forceful back and forth movement. This can put lots of stress into the neck and is one of the most common causes of pain after a vehicle crash. Some of the symptoms include pain in the neck with or without movement, loss of neck range of motion, headaches/dizziness, concussion, shoulder pain, numbness down the arm.
Back injuries are another common type of injury after a car accident. The rapid change in direction can cause pain in the neck and back, and the symptoms can manifest in many different ways. Pain may be localized to one spot or be diffuse and spread out, it may be dull or sharp, you might experience abdominal pain along with back pain, pain might even travel down your leg. Back pain can have a wide range of presentations, but if it presents around the time of or after a vehicle collision, it may be caused by the accident.
Knee injuries are also common after a car accident. A direct impact injury where your knee hits the dashboard, door or steering wheel can cause bruising, ligament tears and even a fracture of the patella/kneecap. A twisting of the knee in the car accident can cause meniscal injuries.
These are some of the more commonly seen injuries we see after a motor vehicle accident, other injuries might include soft-tissue injuries in the upper or lower body, shoulder injuries, concussions and traumatic brain injuries.
When should you worry about pain after a car accident?
Many of the injuries and symptoms that we have talked about in the section above such as neck and back pain are all good reasons to come see a healthcare professional, but injuries can vary from mild to very severe injuries. Here are a few key symptoms we want you to be aware of to decide if seeing a healthcare professional more urgently may be a good idea.
Any sort of head/dizziness symptoms are reasons to seek out medical care. Symptoms such as nausea, light/sound sensitivity, balance deficits or double vision are all symptoms associated with concussions. Concussions are not considered medical emergencies but when left untreated can be very debilitating. Symptoms such as a progressively worsening headache, loss of consciousness, confusion, slurred speech or weakness in one limb may indicate something more serious, such as a brain injury and if experiencing any of these symptoms, one should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Similar to the symptoms of the head, spinal cord symptoms are also ones you want to be aware of. Loss of sensation or weakness down one or both limbs either upper or lower, difficulty with coordination and balance, loss of voluntary muscle control and loss of bowel/bladder control are all symptoms that you should seek out immediate medical care for.
Difficulty breathing and chest pain immediately following the accident in any capacity is another reason to seek out immediate medical care. There are many reasons why a person may be experiencing difficulty breathing. This might include bruising of the chest and surrounding soft tissues, a muscle strain but it can also indicate something more serious such as a rib fracture and even a punctured lung. As it may be difficult to assess the severity of the injury, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible if you experience any sort of difficulty breathing after a car accident.
How we treat motor vehicle accident injuries
Following a motor vehicle accident, you are feeling some pain and stiffness and you decide to book in for a physiotherapy assessment, what can you expect? We will go over a brief outline of what a typical assessment and treatment plan might look like.
An assessment will a few different items, the main goal of the assessment is to get a better understanding of your symptoms and pain. This will involve a comprehensive subjective and objective assessment where we will ask you a series of questions to better understand your pain and other symptoms you may be experiencing. This will be followed up with an assessment of how you move, which will include testing range of motion, strength, sensation, and finding pain-provoking positions. The treatment plan will depend on what we find in the assessment, there are many different treatment options that can be employed, but these are some key characteristics that you can expect in any treatment plan you receive here at REP Physio.
1) Education: We understand that experiencing pain and injuries following a motor vehicle accident can be both emotionally and physically taxing. Our goal is to make sure you have a good idea of what issues you are dealing with and what that means. Whether that means you are dealing with low back pain, upper back pain, neck injuries or head injuries, we want to provide you with information on what structures and tissues are affected and why that may be contributing to your pain. This is also where we will provide you with how physiotherapy can be helpful in the management of these issues and outline a general path towards how we get you back to feeling better. We will also provide you with education on pain management strategies you can employ at home to reduce your symptoms. Car accident injuries can vary, but regardless of what the injury is, our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive treatment plan to address the issues you are facing and provide you with the information and tools to address these issues.
2) Therapeutic exercise: Exercise is a cornerstone of any effective rehabilitation program. Here at REP Physio, we believe that taking an active approach to rehabilitation is very important. Exercises may differ depending on the condition and also the timeline of when the injury was. We would prescribe a different exercise if you are coming to the clinic a few days after an accident compared to if you have already been coming frequently or if you are dealing with chronic pain. The intent of the exercise may vary depending on if we are looking to decrease immediate pain, increase range of motion or strengthen a certain muscle. Based off of what we find in the assessment, we will determine what exercise is best suited for you, and this will likely change depending on what you are dealing with.
3) Pain modulators: We have discussed how we employ an active approach to rehabilitation, but symptom management is also important! Right after an auto accident, you may be very sensitive to movement, and temporary relief of pain may make it easier to manage day to day or even help to actually facilitate doing exercises. Here at REP Physio, we employ different manual therapy techniques such as active release therapy and intramuscular stimulation dry needling. The foundation of any good rehabilitation program is a strong emphasis on exercises (which can also be a pain modulator!) but soft tissue techniques can be a very powerful adjunct treatment to help you manage your symptoms.
This is a quick overview of what you can expect from a physiotherapy visit with us here at REP Physio. We employ a multi-disciplinary approach towards rehabilitation here at REP physio, and our goal is to work with and empower you towards your rehabilitation goals. At REP Physio, we have over 75 years of combined clinical experience in treating motor vehicle accidents. This allows us to create an evidence based, active, one on one approach to your recovery.
