Minor Accidents Major Problems

Minor Accidents and Major Problems

Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) do not need to have a large forceful impact to hurt. A tap in a parking lot or a slow rear-end collision can leave you aching for weeks. At Chambers Medical Group, one of the highest rated car accident medical care programs in Kentucky, we see patients surprised by pain from crashes they thought were harmless. How do minor MVAs cause major problems, and what can you do? Dr. Aaron Workman of Chambers Medical Group discusses why small accidents can still pack a punch and some of the things you should do to address the damage.

Unexpected Forces

Even low-speed crashes jolt your body. One detail that is frequently missed is what a patient was doing at moment of impact. The positioning of joints can make a small impact much worse. A sudden stop snaps your neck or twists your torso, straining muscles, or ligaments. These tissues absorb force fast, especially if tensed during impact. An impact where you are looking straight ahead will affect joints differently versus an impact where you were sitting and looking at something over to the side. A patient presented with a moderate shoulder injury recently, and although the impact was at a slow speed, further questions discovered that while stopped he was reaching backwards picking up an item from the seat. His shoulder strain, missed at first, came from the shoulder being position outward and then subjected to a force that was unexpected. This may not have affected most patients but for him, it was also the shoulder he had injured years ago playing high school sports, making it more vulnerable to damage.

Hidden Damage

Minor MVAs hide their impact. Whiplash can feel like a stiff neck but grows into headaches or arm tingling. Muscle tears start as soreness, then limit movement. Joints with wear, common in older adults, ache worse with little trauma. Pain may not show for days, so patients ignore it, thinking rest will fix everything. Eventually, if not checked out properly, these injuries will turn into the new normal for most. They fail to improve and discover new ways to live without hurting.

Amplified by Age

Your body takes hits harder as you age. Cartilage thins, muscles lose strength, and old scars never leave. A minor crash can inflame these weak spots, making pain feel much worse than it would feel if you were younger. That shoulder patient had mild arthritis, which he had learned to live with until the car accident made it a larger problem, possibly leading to more severe arthritis if left untreated. As mentioned before, one in five adults has some joint wear, so small MVAs often hit harder than expected. Ignoring early soreness lets inflammation build, locking in discomfort.

Pain from a minor crash deserves the same attention that a more forceful impact deserves. Both types of accidents will affect your quality of life if left alone. At Chambers Medical Group we check joints, muscles, and nerves to find different types of traumas that others may miss. Exams and imaging can spot tears or joint damage before they worsen. Early stretches and range of motion exercise can help stop small injuries from becoming a huge deal. If you have found yourself sore following a small fender-bender, come in and get checked out. A minor car accident can turn into a major problem and the Doctors at Chambers Medical Group can help.

— This article is written by Aaron Workman, DC, one of the members of Chambers Medical Group’s team of car accident chiropractors who offer a variety of treatments and therapies ranging from diagnostic testing to various soft tissue therapies for car accidents and injuries in Kentucky.

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