Common Forms of Back Injury after a Car Accident

The back is subjected to enormous pressures during a car accident. It can be pinched and wrenched during a frontal impact, and if you happen to go airborne and flip, you could wrench and break it. These accidents are some of the most severe and debilitating injuries you can sustain during a car accident, and they are no laughing matter. These aren’t the type of injuries you can just walk off and ice for a few days. They require months and sometimes years of treatment.
Let’s take a moment to look at the most common forms of back injury you could sustain in a car accident.

Disc Injuries

The disc is the spongy material that cushions the vertebrae. In a car accident, this material can be pinched, torn or otherwise deformed. Some of the side effects of this type of injury are pain in the back, numbness in the extremities and muscle weakness. These types of injuries often get worse over time and require extensive therapy and rehab.

Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord is the primary means for transferring information from the body to and from the brain. It carries all your sensory information. It is what allows you to play the piano and hold a pencil. When the spinal cord is injured or broken, all of a sudden those messages cannot get to the rest of the body. This can lead to partial or full paralysis. People who sustain a spinal cord injury may never recover. They may be paraplegic or quadriplegic for the rest of their lives.

Compression Fractures

The spine is comprised of many bones called vertebrae. When one of the vertebrae is broken, it compresses. When a vertebrae collapses, the shape of the spine is permanently altered. This can lead to a host of problems – not the least of which is lifelong pain and bad posture. Most of these fractures go undiagnosed. That is why it is so important to be checked out by a medical professional after an accident. You could be severely injured and not know it without x-rays or an MRI.
If you have been injured in a Kansas car accident, you need to speak with a car accident attorney. If you would like to speak with one of our expert attorneys, please fill out the FREE car accident claim evaluation form found on this site, and one of our car accident lawyers will contact you soon to discuss your case.