Recovering from Car Accident Injuries: Interventional Pain Management Strategies

Car accident injuries commonly impact a person’s physical well-being. If you were injured in a car accident, you may experience pain in different areas, including soreness of the legs, arms, or ribs, back or neck pain, difficulty moving your neck, or other types of discomfort. At The Spine and Sports Health Center, we help patients suffering from all types of car accident injuries by implementing a personalized plan of care aimed at helping to alleviate pain, promote healing and improve your quality of life.

Types of Injuries

Many types of injuries can be caused by car accidents, from minor cuts and scratches to those that cause long-term pain, such as lower back pain, cervical (i.e., neck) pain, pinched nerves, broken bones, and more. Below are some common types of injuries that can result from car accidents.

Whiplash

Rear-end collisions are a common cause of whiplash injuries. A whiplash injury occurs when the head is suddenly jolted back and forth, damaging the neck muscles or nerves, ligaments, and bones. Symptoms of whiplash may include:

• Pain, stiffness, swelling, or tenderness of the neck
• Trouble moving the neck
• Difficulty concentrating
• Headaches
• Pins and needles feeling, pain, or numbness in the arms, hands, or shoulders
• Muscle weakness or spasms
• Sleep problems

Spinal Injuries

Spinal injuries often occur as a result of severe car accidents. Spinal cord injuries can lead to loss of sensation and function and paralysis below the injury. Common spinal injuries include:

• Herniated disc – when the soft part of a spinal disc (i.e., rubber-like cushions located between each vertebrae bone) spine pushes out through a crack
• Radiculopathy – a condition that occurs when spinal nerve roots are compressed in the neck or back

Joint Injuries

Joint injuries in the knees, hips, and shoulders, and fractures in the ribs, arms, legs, and pelvis can occur during the impact of a collision. Some of these include:

• Sprains – when the ligaments that connect bone to bone are stretched or torn
• Strains – when the muscles or tendons, which attach muscles to bones, are stretched or torn
• Dislocations – when the bones in a joint are forced out of their normal position

Soft tissue injuries

Car accidents can result in soft tissue injuries, such as bruising to muscles, ligaments, and tendons, which often causes pain, swelling, and limited mobility. The lumbar (lower back) area is a common place for soft tissue injuries from the sudden force of a rear-end collision.

The Solution: Interventional Pain Management

If you have chronic pain from a car accident, an interventional pain management doctor can provide a customized treatment plan for pain relief and recovery. Many people get relief from pain without undergoing surgery. Examples of minimally invasive, interventional pain management techniques include:

• Epidural steroid injection – involves injecting medication into the space around the spinal cord, called the epidural space
• Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) – a procedure to insert a device that sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord
• Facet joint injection – injections that help reduce inflammation and pain in the small joints between the vertebrae
• Peripheral nerve block – local injections that can temporarily relieve pain
  * Radiofrequency ablation – a procedure that uses heat to interfere with nerve signals that transmit pain

Interventional pain management after a car accident often also involves other care modalities, including chiropractic care and physical therapy. Chiropractic care involves therapeutic exercises and manual therapy, often including spinal manipulation. Physical therapy improves strength, flexibility, and overall function, which can help with pain management and recovery.

Get Real Pain Relief After a Car Accident

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, seek medical advice from an interventional pain management specialist, who can provide a specialized treatment plan tailored to your needs. Remember that you don’t have to live with pain; our board-certified doctors at The Spine Sports Health Center provide interventional pain management techniques to maximize effective pain relief without surgery. Schedule a virtual or in-office consultation at our pain management centers in Hoboken, Jersey City, or Bayonne, NJ today.