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Depending on the severity of your auto accident, you can experience a variation of symptoms or pain. The timeframe in which you experience pain differs. Many people don’t experience auto accident pain right away, and can even experience delayed auto accident pain for days, weeks or even a year after.

Why Didn’t I Experience Pain at the Impact of the Car Accident?

Often times the delay is contributed to your body going into shock after an auto accident. If you haven’t sustained a life-threatening injury or don’t need to be rushed to a hospital, your mind becomes almost instantly preoccupied with other things like the damage to your car or dealing with the other party and police at the scene. With adrenaline and shock, many times you don’t even realize you have a serious injury until later. But the scientific reason for the delay is because your body has not gone into its healing reaction mode. When it does, the pain evolves from acute inflammation. Tissue damage results in the release of chemicals that position the body to undergo a series of physiological reactions and the chemical reaction process takes time to occur. There are things that prolong the pain also like resuming regular physical activity because you don’t know how badly you’re injured, applying heat which spikes inflammation, and stalling a proper medical evaluation.

5 Common Types of Delayed Car Accident Pain

There are conditions that are often minimized because they are considered “normal” like headaches or neck pain. But if you were involved in an auto accident, no pain or symptom should go unattended. These are 5 common types of delayed car accident pain:

1. Headaches – you should be weary of the intensity and location of the pain. These factors could be indicators of a more major concern like a concussion or other brain injury.

2. Neck pain – though it is common, whiplash is a serious injury and can cause permanent spinal or nerve damage.

3. Weakness and numbness, tingling or burning sensations – these are often red flags for herniated discs.

4. Back Pain – the underlying cause can be a sprain, a herniated or bulging disc, or soft tissue damage

5. Abdominal Pain – this should definitely be attended to because it can mean there is internal bleeding. Internal bleeding can cause incidental dizziness, headaches, and bruising that you may disregard.

Don’t Wait To Get Treated After a Car Accident

Even if you are not experiencing severe pain, you should have a doctor or chiropractor perform an examination and determine Emergency Medical Condition (EMC). One reason is because the delay can make it difficult to diagnose and properly treat. Another reason is because the condition can worsen with time and you may need a more aggressive and extensive treatment approach or suffer from permanent damage. A third reason is because in Florida, the legislature modified PIP law to provide only a 14-day window to get evaluated for EMC or your medical expenses and treatment will not be covered under the auto medical claim. 

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Adkore has a team of expert auto accident medical providers that comprehensively treat a variety of auto accident injuries and pain. The schedule allows for same-day appointments and treatment as we understand the timeliness of your recovery. Additionally, the staff will work with your insurance company and attorney to ensure efficiency of your case.