Friday, March 29, 2024

The Effects of Having A Bad Injury Accident to the Patient After the Treatment

auto accident (unsplash)
Photo: Unsplash

*Experiencing an accident at any point in your life is dreadful and most of the time, traumatic. Where it can leave permanent damage on your body, mind, and financial life as well.

Apart from the extensive medical treatment, you might also have to seek out personal injury lawyers or visit your therapist to resolve financial and psychological issues. Once you get behind the wheel, the only thing you can do is be extremely careful to avoid crashes. But, in certain unfortunate incidents, you might suffer the consequences due to someone else’s inattentiveness.

It’s possible that you might suffer certain permanent injuries, disability, or pain that never quite goes away after the accident and even after you have received the treatment. So, what exactly are those? Read on to find out!

Effects of permanent damage after an accident

After you go through an accident, you might experience a few symptoms that can be life-altering, some of which cannot be solved by treatment. As soon as you experience the crash, your body will face an impact. It actually keeps moving at the same speed as the car and will suddenly face a collision that can lead to certain physical damage. It can be a headache or a head impact if there is no airbag or seat belt put on. Or, it can be a whiplash in which your neck could face an impact due to a rear-end accident. This can adversely affect your neck muscles and maybe cause permanent neck damage. Apart from these symptoms and health issues, there are some major permanent injuries that you might suffer from after an accident.

Paralysis

Paralysis or spinal cord injury can be a devastating repercussion caused by a motor vehicle accident, which is actually very common and occurs frequently. This is caused due to flexing and compression of the spinal cord during the crash, due to its heavy impact. A mild effect can cause a herniated disc, but a higher impact on your spinal cord can result in paralysis. To understand the symptoms of a damaged spinal cord, look for signs of loss of movement, recurring spasms, numbness, no control over your bowel movement, issues with breathing, and tingling sensations. It’s important to see a doctor once you notice a couple of these symptoms as paralysis can ruin your life. Basically, in paralysis, a section of your body will completely stop functioning and you’ll feel no sensation. This happens because the nerves in your spinal cord are completely damaged and they can’t control your body’s muscular movements or functions anymore.

To understand it further, let’s go through the types of paralysis. Monoplegia affects just one limb, hemiplegia affects both legs and one side of your upper and lower body, paraplegia affects the legs and lower body, and, lastly, quadriplegia affects both arms and legs. In the last situation, the person cannot carry out any normal functions or day-to-day activities on his own and would need external help. It’s quite heartbreaking and life-altering, even for the victim’s family. Another devastating aspect is that there’s no cure for a damaged spinal cord. The maximum you can do is visit physiotherapists, to learn to get back to an active lifestyle, and a therapist to have an open conversation and gain perspective.

Amputation

One of the most difficult injuries to deal with after a motor vehicle accident is Amputation. It is noted in the United States that nearly 50% of people who have a missing limb have experienced a motor vehicle accident which led to the amputation of one limb or more. In some situations, during a car crash, the impact of a vehicle colliding with another can cause the victim’s limb to become severely damaged so that the limb cannot be reconstructed. While in other scenarios, a limb may be damaged that it needs to be surgically amputated as soon as possible to save the victim’s life. When the impact of the crash is severe, the organs and limbs might suffer the impact too, causing blood clots and certain infections. To stop spreading this infection in the entire body, there’s no option but to amputate the limb. All limbs and digits can be affected by this issue, which would need to be amputated. This stops the further spread of infection. It’s heartbreaking to accept this decision and this can lead to depression. But the victim has to do it anyway. Another commonly experienced pain is phantom limb pain. It refers to ongoing pain coming from the amputated limb. In fact, amputations are known to be a major cause of mental health issues, muscle weakness, painful blisters, and emotional discomfort.

auto accident victim (unsplash)
IMAGE SOURCE: https://unsplash.com/photos/W_4pmSwWCkg

Brain Injuries

The year 2013 witnessed a huge number of car accidents and deaths due to brain injuries and permanent damage. This can happen due to blood leaking within the brain after the crash. This is normally caused due to blunt force and can lead to organ disability, vision loss, speech loss, memory loss, or even coma. Brain injuries can be fatal and can completely change the life of the victim and his family. Also known as TBI or Traumatic Brain Injuries, this can be the beginning after hitting the head on the glass or any hard surface, resulting in a concussion. It takes a while to figure out whether the victim is suffering or has already suffered from a concussion or not, making the judgment more difficult during the treatment.

To know more about the condition, look for symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, disorientation, slower response time, sensitivity to light, less or more sleeping patterns, or loss of stability. The situation is panicky and there’s a lot of adrenaline rush that can make it harder to realize the situation. This case is more serious because there are no visible signs of damage, but there could be major internal bleeding or damage. If not treated sooner, a victim can get into a coma, from where there’s no turning back in most of the cases.

Brain injuries are the worst because, as mentioned, there’s no going back to a normal lifestyle. There are chances of improving a few of these brain injuries, but others might stay for long. This can widely affect a person’s professional and personal life. The inability to not process normal things quickly can majorly affect the victim’s work, which is scary.

Effects of permanent damage after treatment

Even though the victim has received the relevant treatment, a few people might face some permanent damage in their entire lives. There might be certain physical and mental consequences that can leave deep scars and change the victim’s life, some of which are irreversible.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological issue that is most common in victims who have survived a car accident. Depending on the severity of the crash, the effects can be permanent. The victim can either face prolonged depression and anxiety, or have episodes of mental disfigurements, such as emotional numbing or hyperarousal. However, this will only occur in situations with the most severe car crashes, or when the victim has witnessed the death of someone close. Even though most of the cases are treatable, there are a few victims who face this issue in short episodes that occur rarely throughout their life. The stress can also overtake the brain’s function and can lead to loss of sleep or appetite, which can affect the victim’s physical health as well. In a few cases, the victim also faces personality changes that suit every situation. Victims can experience delusions, hallucinations, or simply confusion that is frequently recurring. They also may have frequent bad dreams and nightmares, show constant fear, mistrust, guilt, or anger, and feel nervous almost all the time. A motor vehicle accident victim can talk to people who are close, or even a therapist in case of the fear of being judged. Talking and letting it all out is the most effective way for a survivor to gain a new perspective and view this incident as a lesson rather than a nightmare.

Tissue or Joint Issues

Another common health issue that might be unforeseeable after a few days of the treatment is tissue and joint issues. There could be permanent soft tissue damage or damage to sensitive joints such as the knees. Even if the victim hasn’t faced any tissue or joint issues before, a quick blow from an auto accident can cause some aggravation that can lead to permanent damage. Unfortunately, there’s no treatment to solve knee injuries or pain. Severe issues such as arthritis can only be prevented. Health advisors at PowerRebound.com recommend using knee support to alleviate any recurring pain and to prevent issues such as arthritis or recurring chronic pain. Best knee supports are durable, easy to wear, and adjustable. It’s also advisable for the survivor to visit the doctor frequently and perform exercises that might relieve the pain and make it bearable.If the soft tissue issue isn’t treated at the earliest opportunity, it could lead to the development of scar tissue, which can be untreatable. Soft tissue injuries are collectively referred to as damage to ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Any kind of strain or sprain to these body parts can be irreversible if not treated soon. The diagnosis is also not easy because of the multiple injured areas. The symptoms might occur soon or might be delayed for a few days, and hence it becomes very unpredictable to decipher the problem. If a victim sees any kind of discoloration, stiffness, or inflammation, it is advised to contact and see a doctor promptly to avoid severe consequences.

back exam (unsplash)
IMAGE SOURCE: https://unsplash.com/photos/CEM52sAHR80

Permanent back or neck pain

Even though back pain is a common problem among most of the adults, it can occur during and after the car accident, which can be permanent at times. A lower back issue is far worse when experienced during an accident and when it’s sustained. It feels like a bane because of the recurring pain and limitations in moving from one place to another. The victim can also face permanent neck damage that is untreatable in a few cases. Within these two health issues, there are possibilities of suffering disc damage or even cervical dislocation.

A severe back and neck pain might not occur as soon as the treatment is finished. These issues crawl in slowly and can become more severe over time. Starting with whiplash, the effect can remain throughout a person’s life. You might also have heard about spine trauma after the accident, which can cause some serious aftermath, even after the treatment. As mentioned, a victim can experience disc herniation or permanent damage related to the crash, such as collarbone damage or rib damage, or worse, lung collapse. In worst-case scenarios, the torso can hit forward, bruising the heart.

Some of these situations can lead to a lot of blood loss, causing permanent organ damage or failure. If a person is facing back or neck ache, the only thing he or she can do is prevent experiencing recurring pain. The victim needs to visit a physiotherapist every once in a while and to wear the necessary equipment as suggested by him. With issues such as spinal damage and herniated discs, the victim needs to see a chiropractor who uses cold laser therapy and non-invasive spinal decompression that relieves pain and treats the musculoskeletal system.

It seems intense, right? It’s more than enough information to stay aware, follow safety protocols, get your car checked with airbags, and follow traffic rules. This is the least you can do to avoid crashes, which result in injuries and loss of life. Make sure that all the passengers are wearing seat belts before you start driving. Even if it’s someone else’s fault, you need to be careful to avoid any further damage that could completely change your and your family’s life. After the accident, take corrective measures, such as visiting the doctor frequently, sticking to a healthy diet, getting proper sleep, and talking about the incident to let it all out.

 

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