Common Types of Lower Back Pain From a Car Accident

Car accidents can lead to various injuries, and lower back pain is one of the most common. The impact of the collision can cause it, the position of the body during the accident, or even the deployment of airbags. In this blog, we’ll look closer at some common types of lower back pain that can result from a car accident and what you can do to alleviate the pain and promote healing.

What Types of Back Injuries Occur Due to Car Accidents?

The spine consists of 33 individual vertebrae. This structure can be divided into three distinct areas: cervical (neck area), thoracic and lumbar vertebrae (upper back).

The vertebrae are surrounded by various structures in the body, such as muscles, tendons and ligaments, discs, and nerves, that may all contribute to back pain ranging from mild to debilitating depending on an injury sustained; temporary or long-term back discomfort may even exist that is only treatable but not curable.

Back pain is among the most prevalent injuries sustained from auto accidents.

Whiplash Injury

Whiplash is one of the most prevalent neck injuries. It typically results from low-speed rear-end collisions when forces from an impact result in violent motion that stretches or tears neck muscles and tendons.

Mild cases of whiplash may be treated at home using over-the-counter pain relievers and exercises; most will get better on their own. But more severe instances could require intensive medical assistance to improve them quickly.

Sprains and Muscle Strains

Accident impacts can cause back muscles to be stretched abnormally or torn away from their attachment points, causing soft tissue injuries that lead to back pain, stiffness, and limited range of movement from car accident.

Home treatments for mild-to-moderate cases of asthma typically include anti-inflammatory medication and the application of heat or cold therapy. In contrast, more severe issues may require physical therapy and take longer to heal.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Discs lie between each vertebra, providing a cushion for our vertebrae to move on smoothly. Disc problems can result in extreme backache when damaged or compressed on nerves, causing severe discomfort for sufferers of Degenerative Disc Disease or another cause, such as an auto accident, which can bring pain as the disc wears down over time or presses on them directly. Degeneration often happens over time, while trauma caused by car accidents also can result in disc injuries to these vital structures of support for the spine.

Treatment options vary based on the severity and nature of each condition, from medication to surgical interventions.

Spinal Cord Injuries Spinal cord injuries can be permanent and severe. A car accident is the leading source of lower back pain injuries among young people.

Spinal injuries may lead to loss of sensation and function below the injury site, including total or partial paralysis and chronic pain, infection, blood clots or other potentially life-threatening issues.

Lumbar Spine Injuries Caused by Car Crash

The lumbar spinal region lies at the lower back above the sacrum. This region’s vertebrae are designated L1 through L5 according to doctor-numbered systems, providing strength to provide stability for the back.

Car accidents often leave victims suffering lower back pain and swelling, with possible additional effects like bruising, swelling, and bruises arising.

An automobile accident may cause traumatized tissue injuries in the Thoracic Spine region.

Vertebrae are designated T1 through T12 for reference in back injuries that involve the most severe symptoms, typically including injuries to the thoracic spinal cord.

Nerve damage may result from high-speed car crashes, which cause fractures of the thoracic spinal column due to sprains or injuries sustained from impact.

Damage to Spinal Cord After Car Crash

The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers and cells extending from the brain stem down through vertebral bodies that house and protect its contents, culminating in the lower spine. A spinal column comprises this collection.

The spinal cord is an essential nervous system component and transmits messages between the brain and body. Spinal cord injuries often cause life-altering back injuries such as paralysis or the loss of sensation if left untreated; their severity varies widely among individuals based on severity, location, and extent.

Herniated Disc From a Car Accident

An automobile collision can have catastrophic repercussions for discs that support and cushion the spine’s 23 discs – cushions that soften between vertebrae. A sudden impact from such an impact may damage these cushions significantly and have severe ramifications for disc health.

Herniated discs (hernia or slip disc) occur when the soft interior core of a disc becomes damaged and begins to leak, which allows its soft inner core to become exposed and leak further out, becoming displaceable and pressing against nearby nerves, creating pain that may be severe.

Herniated disks can form anywhere along the spine, with the lower back (lumbar region) particularly susceptible. A herniated disc can result in leg and foot numbness, while neck-herniated disks may numb hands and arms as a symptom.

Common Signs and Symptoms of Back Injury

Back injuries following car accidents are all too often experienced; sometimes, symptoms do not manifest until later that day or week. Even if mild, they should see their doctor immediately after such an experience.

Don’t take chances! Back injuries may lead to permanent disabilities. Take extra caution! Back injuries could have dire repercussions.

Warning signs for back injuries:

• Pain may range in intensity from moderate to severe.
• Buttock or leg pain.
• Stiffness.
• Moving your arms, hands, or legs may feel numb or tingly.
• Standing or walking with difficulty is an all too familiar problem.

Schedule Your Appointment

If you’re experiencing lower back pain from a car accident, don’t suffer in silence. Contact the car injury doctors at Florida Medical Pain Management today and take the first step towards a pain-free life. Our board-certified doctors and psychologists offer personalized treatment plans to help you recover and get back to living your life to the fullest. Schedule your appointment now!

Our Treatment Services

Florida Medical Pain Management’s top priority is serving our patients’ needs and creating long-lasting relationships with them. Our treatments include:

• Treatment for Neuropathy
• Arthritis Management
• Back Pain Medication
• Chronic Pain Treatments
• PRP Injections
• Epidural Injection
• Regenerative Medicine
• Hip Pain Medication
• Ketamine Infusion Therapy

We want to help patients live more fulfilling and productive lives by effectively managing their pain. Florida Medical Pain Management also provides home therapy and many more. Click here to see our other services.