Is Back Pain After a Car Accident Serious? What to Know About Recovery

When you're involved in a car accident, you immediately tend to your injuries. You look for cuts and scrapes. But soft tissue injuries like back pain after a car accident don't happen right away. They can take hours or days to appear. And when they do appear, you might think you're fine. That's why back pain after a car accident is so dangerous. After all, who wants to overreact? This adrenaline rush is like Mother Nature's morphine. It helps you avoid pain and discomfort. But you pay for that feeling later. Time you could've used to seek treatment.

At the Cambridge Physiotherapy, we don't want to alarm you. Education is power, and we want to equip you with the tools you need to avoid chronic pain and recover from your motor vehicle accident (MVA) as quickly as possible.

Why You Shouldn't "Wait and See" with Back Pain After a Car Accident

You don't feel pain immediately after your accident because your body releases stress hormones like adrenaline. These hormones temporarily block the sensation of pain. So you might feel fine after your accident, but when you wake up the next day, that's when the pain hits you. It'll usually come in the form of stiffness and soreness due to soft tissue damage (i.e. muscle or ligament tears). Soft tissue damage is not visible on X-rays, so many people dismiss their back pain after a car accident. But not treating injuries like whiplash, lumbar strains, and herniated discs can lead to chronic problems like arthritis, pain that flares with activity, and difficulty sleeping or working. In fact, 20-30% of those who fail to get treatment early on will develop chronic pain.

Beginning physio within 72 hours limits inflammation, prevents scar tissue build-up, and ensures your injury heals properly so you can make a full recovery, rather than be plagued with long-term problems.

Common Back Pain Injuries After a Car Accident

Now that you know why you should never wait and see with your back pain after a car accident, let's discuss the injuries that cause back pain after a car accident. By knowing what injuries to look for, you'll understand why it's so important to get assessed by a professional.

Whiplash (Cervical Strain)

Whiplash is what most people think of when they think of a car accident injury. When your head and neck are jerked backward, then forward in a violent motion, the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that support your cervical spine become stretched and torn. This can extend from your neck all the way to your upper back.

Symptoms of whiplash include neck pain along with:

• Tightness or stiffness in the upper back
• Headaches that originate in the base of your neck
• Pain between your shoulder blades that may make it difficult to sleep
• Unable to turn your head far to the right and left without pain

Some people experience these symptoms right away while others may take days to develop.

Lumbar Sprains

Back injuries happen during car accidents when your vehicle abruptly stops moving, but your body continues forward until stopped by your seatbelt. The force your body experiences during this process can travel across your lumbar spine causing injury. This most commonly happens in your lower back between the L4-L5 and L5-S1 vertebrae.

Symptoms of a lumbar sprain include:

• Achy pain in your lower back region that gets worse when you sit for long periods of time or move around
• Stiffness in your lower back that typically feels worse in the morning after resting overnight

Herniated Discs

Like lumbar strains, herniated discs are also caused by compression forces during a collision. Force from an accident can cause injury to your intervertebral discs. These rubbery discs sit between each vertebra and help to absorb shock. When the outer wall tears, the inner gel-like substance pushes out. These are called herniated discs, and they can put pressure on your nerves.

Pain from a herniated disc can cause:

• Shooting pain that travels down your leg(s) (sciatica)
• Numbness or tingling down your leg(s) in certain muscle groups
• Weakness when you try to move your leg(s)

Any type of radiating pain or weakness down your leg could be an indicator that you need to seek medical attention immediately.

Ontario Insurance Benefits for Back Pain after a Car Accident

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, your auto insurance will cover the costs associated with your injuries. Dealing with insurance after an accident can be daunting, but we take care of all that for you here at Cambridge Physiotherapy. Simply show up to your appointment and let us worry about the billing.

When you suffer injuries from a car accident in Ontario they are considered either Minor Injury Guideline (MIG) or Non-MIG.

MIG are defined as soft tissue injuries. Strains, sprains, and whiplash are all considered MIG's. You are entitled to receive up to $3,500.00 towards the treatment of your injuries. This includes physiotherapy treatment, massage therapy treatment, and chiropractic treatments.

Non-MIG injuries are more serious injuries such as herniated discs, broken bones, burns, dislocations, chronic pain, and permanent injuries. The limit for non-MIG injuries starts at $65,000.00. If you have suffered a catastrophic injury such as brain injuries the limit can be much higher.

Your insurance premium will not go up because you have received physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is included in a basic plan.

The sooner you seek treatment for your injury, the better. Waiting too long to start physio can affect how your insurance company deems your injury. For example, if you wait more than 30 days to begin treatment, your injury may be looked at as pre-existing. By starting physio right away, you create a medical file which documents that you were injured in a motor vehicle accident.

One of the greatest benefits that The Cambridge Physiotherapy provides our accident patients is direct billing. With direct billing, you pay nothing out of pocket and we submit the claims directly to your insurance company. You don't have to worry about submitting anything and we'll bill them directly.

How Physiotherapy Can Help You Recover from Your MVA

Treatments like ice, manual therapy, TENS, ultrasound or laser therapy and therapeutic exercise help reduce inflammation that can lead to pain. While inflammation is part of the healing process, too much of it can actually hurt you. Physio will also help you restore movement. Without movement, your injury will heal with scar tissue that limits your range of motion. Your physiotherapist will coach you through specific exercises that can prevent this from happening.

Your physio can even identify underlying injuries you may not know you have. For instance, did you know that concussions are extremely common after a car accident? Mild concussions can cause problems with your balance or ability to concentrate that you may not even realize are related to your accident. If you begin experiencing these types of problems later on, a physiotherapist can assess you for a concussion.

After an accident, it's common for people to develop a fear of movement or reinjuring themselves. Not only can physio help you from a physical standpoint, but they can help you recover emotionally as well.

Don't Risk Your Recovery

If you're experiencing back pain after a car accident, don't take that pain and hope that it goes away. The sooner you address your injury, the sooner you can recover. If you begin treatment within one week of your accident, you can fully recover. After that week, your risk of developing chronic symptoms begins to develop.

Get in contact with us today to book your assessment. Don't let a traumatic event turn into a lifetime of suffering when treatment is quick and accessible.

Also Check:

• Can Shockwave Therapy Relieve Lower Back Pain?
• Signs You Need Physiotherapy for Back Pain
• How to Sleep with Back Pain
• MVA Physiotherapy After Car Accident

FAQs related to Back Pain After a Car Accident

Do I need to get my doctor's referral to go see a physiotherapist after my car accident?

No! You don't need a referral to begin treatment at a physiotherapy clinic following your motor vehicle accident. You can call a clinic directly and set up an appointment to begin treatment. You should however see a doctor to ensure no serious injuries were sustained and to have your visit documented by a physician.

How long do I have to notify my insurance company of my injury?

Victims of motor vehicle accidents in Ontario have seven days to notify their insurance company of any injuries sustained. It's recommended that you contact your insurance provider as soon as possible, even if you think you have no injuries.

I've been having back pain after a car accident but the pain didn't start until a week later. Can I still use my insurance benefits to see physio?

Yes! It's very common to not feel symptoms of back pain until a few days or even weeks after your accident. This is because adrenaline masks these symptoms right after the accident. As long as you seek medical treatment as soon as you start to feel symptoms, you should be eligible to use your insurance benefits. Make sure you explain to your doctor or physiotherapist that your pain is related to a motor vehicle accident so they can document it in your file.

Will seeing a physiotherapist cause my insurance rates to go up?

No, filing a claim for accident benefits in order to cover medical treatment like physiotherapy will not increase your insurance premiums. Premium increases can occur when you file a liability claim against another driver. Using your accident benefits is not the same thing.

Can my insurance company force me to see a certain clinic?

No, you are allowed to choose your own care provider(s) to treat your accident-related conditions. You're not obligated to see a specific clinic or healthcare provider just because your insurance company recommends it.