There is no doubt that any injury has an impact on your life. However, some injuries can permanently affect and alter your day-to-day living. Read on for our overview of injuries that can leave a long-lasting effect well after the accident.

Back Pain
Back and spine pain is particularly common after an accident due to the jerking forces that a body endures. While back pain may take days or even weeks to surface, it can linger for a much longer period of time.

Injuries such as lumbar strains, spinal stenosis, and disc herniation can cause long-term chronic pain and may even require surgery to correct. This increases the likelihood of relying on medications to bring the pain down to a manageable level. As your back plays a crucial role in the movement, severe back pain and limits what you are capable of doing. You may even find yourself unable to work, or having to work at a reduced capacity depending on how physically demanding your job is.

Neck Pain
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries following a motor vehicle accident. In fact, the vehicles don’t even need to be moving at a high speed in order for whiplash to occur. Even something as seemingly minor as a fender bender can be a literal pain in the neck.

While most people expect some neck pain in the weeks or months following a motor vehicle collision, very few realize that the pain can plague them for years afterward. Headaches, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, and neck or shoulder stiffness can all linger long after an accident has occurred. If untreated or poorly managed, these symptoms can take a huge toll on a victim’s daily activities including working, sports, and driving.

Arthritis
Most often associated with aging adults, arthritis can also result from joint damage as a result of an accident. If joint cartilage is broken or damaged during an accident this can lead to arthritis in the future.

Arthritis is commonly characterized by stiffness and inflammation in the affected joint or joints. This can, of course, lead to pain, decreased flexibility, and loss of joint function. Typically joints affected following an accident include knees, shoulders, hips, wrists, hands, and feet. The impact of arthritis ranges greatly based on the location and severity of the disease. Those experiencing it in their knees, hips, and feet may run into mobility issues and have to rely on canes or other walking devices. Arthritis in the hands will limit dexterity, limiting a victim’s ability to type, sew, or play certain instruments. Regardless of where it develops, arthritis can become painful enough to keep victims awake at night.

Concussion
A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury that results from the brain bouncing or twisting within the skull. This may result in brain cell damage or even chemical changes within the brain. While concussions are most often associated with contact sports, they are commonly seen following motor vehicle collisions and serious slips and falls.

Though sometimes thought of as a “mild” brain injury, concussions can have serious, life-altering effects. Immediate symptoms of a concussion can include headaches, temporary loss of consciousness, confusion, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. More long-term and serious side effects include concentration and memory issues, personality changes, light sensitivity, inability to sleep, depression, and loss of taste/smell. These symptoms can make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for a person to resume their normal pre-concussion lifestyle.

Loss of limbs
Perhaps one of the most physically devastating injuries, losing a limb completely alters a person’s way of life. In addition to needing to relearn how to carry out every-day tasks, there is also a huge emotional toll.

It can take several months for the wound itself to heal, but that is only the beginning of the process. Fitting and learning to use artificial limbs, and improving strength and muscle control will take additional months and years. The mental and emotional trauma of such a devastating injury can take years to cope with.

Since 1990 the lawyers at Martin G Schulz & Associates have been helping accident victims navigate and rebound from the devastation and hardship of injury accidents. If you have been injured as a result of an accident, don’t suffer in silence. Contact our legal team today.