Auto accidents can cause injuries that don’t manifest in pain right away–or ever. That doesn’t take away from the fact that those injuries could be serious. Whether it’s been one day or one month since you were involved in a car accident, any pain that comes up should be addressed as soon as possible after you begin to feel it. Today, we’re going over why pain is important, why it can be delayed after a car accident, and how you can address its root causes in order to feel better as soon as possible and long-term. Let’s get started.
A Closer Look at Pain
Pain is your body’s way of bringing your attention to an injury that you may not have noticed otherwise. Though it’s unpleasant to experience, pain is actually your greatest ally. It allows you to intervene with injuries before they cause you serious or longstanding harm. One of the most common mistakes that people make when injured is to put a damper on the pain without investigating and addressing its underlying causes. If you’re experiencing pain after a car accident, the best thing you can do is find out what it’s trying to tell you with the help of a medical professional.
What Your Pain is Telling You
Late-onset or nonexistent pain after a car accident can be trying to alert you to something serious. If the injury that’s causing you pain needs to be addressed as soon as possible, why can your body fail to alert you to it?
It’s common for people who are involved in car accidents to experience delayed pain. This can be due to any number of reasons, including:
Shock.
Car accidents are traumatic and unexpected events. Like pain, shock is an important defense mechanism that your body creates. Shock is a way for your mind to protect itself in the face of trauma. It can also prevent you from fully feeling the effects that an accident can have on your body for hours or even days. If it’s been that long since your accident, chances are that shock could have been a culprit.
Adrenaline.
Like shock, adrenaline is a physiological reaction to traumatic or high-stress situations. Involvement in a car accident can cause your body to produce higher levels of adrenaline, which places a damper on pain.
Hidden Injuries.
Some injuries rarely or never manifest in pain, but that doesn’t make them any less serious. Afflictions like concussions, internal bleeding, whiplash, and even spinal injuries can exist without serious pain–but that doesn’t make the injuries themselves any less serious.
Addressing Pain
The best thing you can do for your long-term health and wellness is to see a medical professional if you were in a car accident, regardless of its severity. This is especially true if you’re starting to experience pain. If your pain has been accompanied by stiffness or limited mobility, you can almost definitely benefit from consulting with a skilled chiropractor.
Chiropractors address injuries and mobility limitations in your muscles, bones, ligaments, and nerves. A chiropractor will work with you, taking your unique lifestyle factors and medical history into consideration in order to come up with a course of treatment that promotes long-lasting health, mobility, and relief from pain. This is done by searching for, finding, and treating the injuries that are causing your pain in the first place, then setting you up with the exercises, tools, and knowledge you need to take care of your body in the long term.
