What are automobile injuries?
Automobile injuries result from the forces exerted on your body in a car crash. These injuries could be due to the type of impact the car sustains, for example, crush injuries to your legs if you have a head-on collision.
Automobile injuries often affect the upper body because occupants hit the steering wheel or dashboard. You could also get significant bruising and possibly fractures from a seatbelt or inflating airbags. However, these injuries are far less serious than they would be if the car didn’t protect you.
What are the most common automobile injuries?
Some of the automobile injuries the Vital Orthopedic & Spine Institute team sees most often include:
Fractures
Fractures are broken bones. They may range in severity from a cracked rib to a compound fracture where the bone sticks out of your skin or comminuted fractures where the bones break into multiple pieces.
Dislocations
The impact of an auto accident can separate the bones in your joints. These automobile injuries often cause soft tissue damage, like ligament sprains, tendon strains, and cartilage tears. Injuries like rotator cuff tears in the shoulder can occur with or without dislocation.
Spinal injuries
Spinal injuries might affect your spinal cord, resulting in some degree of paralysis and loss of function. Or they could affect the peripheral nerves extending from your spinal cord through the rest of your body. You could also suffer damage to the vertebrae and discs in your spine.
Whiplash is one of the most common automobile injuries. It occurs when your head moves back and forward violently at the point of impact. This whip-like movement strains the tendons and muscles in your neck.
What treatment would I need for automobile injuries?
The treatment you need for your automobile injuries varies depending on what they are and how severely they’re affecting you. Options your provider at Vital Orthopedic & Spine Institute may recommend in your treatment program include:
- Pain relief medication
- Anti-inflammatories
- Muscle relaxants
- Physical therapy
- Joint injections
- Epidural corticosteroid injections
- Trigger point injections
- Platelet-rich plasma therapy
- Stem cell injections
- Nerve blocks
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Spinal decompression
- Nerve decompression
- Discectomy and fusion
- Joint replacement
Fractures are sometimes treatable by manipulating the bones back into place manually before applying a cast. More complex fractures might require surgery to repair the damage first.
If you suffer an automobile injury, no matter how mild or severe, Vital Orthopedic & Spine Institute provides the treatment you need. Call their office or book an appointment online today.
