Generally, a road traffic accident is a terrible experience – no matter what the symptoms are. One might be shocked, the others – are confused, while some people can face disappointment, regrets, and various concerns. All these and other conditions, as well as the nature of the symptoms themselves, make it complicated to evaluate one’s state after the accident. Therefore here is the list of the most popular injury symptoms after an accident.
#1 Headache
A road traffic accident might cause various injuries. Depending on the type of injury, there are several types of headaches someone can experience after an accident.
#2 Back Pain
Back pain after the accident is often caused by injury to the muscles, ligaments or nerves in the back. Back pain (especially lower back) can be a symptom of a whiplash-type injury. It can also indicate a sprain, herniated disc, or other soft-tissue injuries.
It can appear just after an accident or it might take several days or even weeks for back pain to appear. If it does, bear in mind that you MUST visit a doctor for further examination.
#3 Neck or Shoulder Pain
This is the main sign that a person might be suffering from whiplash. Whiplash occurs when a person’s head moves backwards and then forward suddenly with great force. The main symptoms of whiplash include:
- neck pain and tenderness
- neck stiffness and difficulty moving your head
- headaches muscle spasms
- pain in the shoulders and arms (nhs.co.uk)
Neck or shoulder injuries are usually found through an X-ray or an MRI, thus you might want to visit your doctor for further instructions.
#4 Abdominal Pain
Injuries such as bruises from a seat belt or dizziness can be seen immediately after an accident. However, abdominal pain might be a sign of internal bleeding as well, therefore should not be ignored. Internal bleeding can be undiscovered for days or even weeks and such delay could be dangerous to your life.
Please bear in mind that children are extremely likely to suffer from abdominal pains since the seatbelt is designed for an adult’s body, not the child’s. If your child is suffering from stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, or fever, it might be a result of the accident the child had.
#5 Emotional Pain
Even though your injuries might seem only minor, a road traffic accident is still a very traumatic experience and affects you emotionally as well. Therefore many people can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The most typical symptoms of PTSD are nightmares, flashbacks of accident scenes, and difficulty getting to sleep. These symptoms might seem like a normal reaction to the incident but should not be ignored.
PTSD can affect a person’s (especially a child’s) life after an accident very deeply. It might cause fear of travel, depression, insomnia, anxiety, and other serious problems to a person’s nervous system. As we all know – our mental being is very important and to keep away from illnesses we need to look after our mental health as well as our physical. Thus if you think you might be suffering from PTSD after an accident – contact us and we will do our best to help you.
