What Are the Symptoms of Back Pain From a Car Accident?

Everyday activities, such as lifting a heavy object or working in your home, can cause back injury. However, an auto accident can exert more force on your spine and back due to the crash impact. Back pain is a leading complaint among most individuals involved in car accidents.

Causes of Back Pain From a Car Accident 

Experiencing back pain often occurs after high-impact auto accidents. Below are injuries that lead to back pain symptoms:

• Strains and Sprains

Car accidents can cause lumbar strains and sprains. The impact force causes ligaments, muscles, and tendons in your lower back to stretch beyond their range. As a result, they tear, and you experience muscle spasms, pain, and tightness in your lower back.

• Joint Injuries

Your facet joints connecting your spine to your vertebrae can become injured due to the high impact of car accidents. The pain from the facet joint will lead to stiffness, inflammation, and pain in your lower back.

• Whiplash

The sudden and forceful back and forth movement of your head and neck following a car accident can be harmful. It can tear and damage your tendons, muscles, discs, ligaments, bones, and cervical spine. The injury can cause severe pain in your upper and lower back.

• Spinal Disc Damage

Your spine has 23 discs that support and cushion by sitting between your vertebrae. A high-impact car accident can displace or damage one disc or more. 

You are likely to experience injuries such as bulging discs when it extends into your spinal canal after shifting from their position. You can also get herniated discs or annular tears. Such injuries can lead to nerve pain if a disc fragment irritates or presses against the nerves nearby.
 

Delayed Symptoms 

Traumatic events such as car accidents cause the body to release an adrenaline rush to mask pain signals following the event. You are likely to experience back pain symptoms after a few days to even months.

Soft Tissue Injury Symptoms

Car accidents can injure your soft tissue, thus resulting in back pain. You are likely to experience some symptoms such as muscle spasms, tightness, and pinching. You may experience pain that worsens when you do activities that involve twisting, bending, or lifting. Back pain resulting from soft tissue injury also leads to the loss of normal movement.

Nerve Injury Symptoms 

Back pain can cause sciatica, a symptom that occurs when a herniated or bulging disc compresses nerves in your lumbar spine. The nerve pain results in weakness, numbness, tingling, and one-sided pain in your lower back.

Why You Should See a Doctor Immediately After a Car Accident 

Most people ignore back injury symptoms after a car accident. They assume that the discomfort will go away after a few days. However, any untreated back injury can cause degenerative alterations in your spine and chronic pain. Consider seeing a doctor for a checkup immediately after an accident, even if you feel okay. Doing so is ideal for your safety and health.

For more on back pain, visit Whiplash Pain Center at our offices in Summerville, Charleston, North Charleston, or Holly Hill, South Carolina. You can call (843) 281-7837, (843) 636-7246, (843) 350-5022, or (803) 496-3338 to book an appointment today.