Soft tissue injuries reference injuries to tendons, muscle, ligaments. Soft tissue injuries are not broken bones, spinal cord compression, crush type injuries, or serious head injuries. It is important to visit a doctor after you have suffered a soft tissue injury in a car accident.
Soft tissue injuries following car accidents could be:
- bursitis
- strains
- contusions (bruises)
- tendonitis
- sprains
Bursitis
To define this soft tissue injury, let’s define bursa. A bursa is really a fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between a muscles, tendons, and joints. Bursitis is the swelling an irritation of the fluid sack. Bursitis soft tissue injuries are usually in the shoulder, knee, elbow, and hip.
Strains
A strain can be an injury to the muscle or tendon. This type of injury could be from an auto accident or sports injury. It’s brought on by overuse, stretching, or force. Over use and stretching might be from sports, but force would be from an auto accident.
Contusions
Contusions or bruises are from the direct impact of a blunt object. This could be caused from the body during the force of the impact striking a fixed object in your car. If you have contusions, it would be smart to take images of them immediately. A contusion could be simply a bruise, or it may be injury to muscle fibers beneath the skin. They are usually treated with the RICE Formula ( rest, ice, compression, elevation).
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is irritation or inflammation of the tendon. Tendonitis is often from repetitive motion such as sports type injuries. In an auto accident injury this might be caused from sudden or direct force applied to the area of concern.
Sprains
Following a car accident, you may sustain a sprain type injury. This is a wrench or twist to your ligament. These soft tissue injuries usually involve wrist, ankle, and knees. This type of soft tissue injury if torn could require surgery to correct. A car wreck doctor would be able to determine if you need therapy or surgery.
Treatment for a sprain soft tissue injury might include RICE
- Rest
- Ice
- Compression
- Elevation
- Physical Therapy
When you have suffered a soft tissue injury in a car accident, make sure to visit a doctor immediately. A personal injury doctor will document your injury. This will be relevant towards the outcome of your personal injury case. Soft tissue injuries are not like broken bones. Broken bones are not tough to prove, a soft tissue injury could be very hard to prove without correct documentation.