Your shoulder is an amazing joint, capable of a wide range of motion. Think about it: your arm is probably moving almost all day every day. Unfortunately, this means that even a minor car accident shoulder injury can cause significant pain, discomfort, and loss of mobility. Any injury to the shoulder can make it difficult for you to complete everyday tasks. Even things as simple as eating, sleeping, or getting dressed can become impossible.
Helping your shoulder injury to heal can help get you back to your normal, everyday life. In some cases, that healing can take place at home. In other cases, you may need to see a car accident doctor to get the best results possible.
Common Car Accident Shoulder Injury Types
Every car accident is different and happens under unique circumstances. That means that every injury received in a car accident may also be unique.
However, there are some common forces at work in most such collisions. This means that some types of shoulder injuries are more common than others. Among the most common car accident shoulder injury types are the following:
- Whiplash: We’re used to thinking of whiplash as a neck injury. But this same type of sudden stop can also strain the ligaments and tendons that extend from your neck to your shoulder.
- Torn rotator cuff: In some cases, the tissues and muscles that connect your shoulder muscle to the joint can become torn. These tears can be quite painful and limit the mobility of your arm.
- Dislocated shoulder: When the “ball” is popped out of the socket joint, that’s referred to as a dislocated shoulder. This can occur due to the high force of some car accidents.
- Sprains and strains: The soft tissue around the shoulders–the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, are all susceptible to strains and sprains (a sprain technically applies only to ligaments, which are strained beyond their capacity). Often, these sprains and strains will go away on their own with some rest.
- Broken bones: We usually think of broken bones as impossible to miss. But sometimes your shoulder can experience a small fracture–it just feels like a little bit of pain at first. It’s possible to miss these smaller fractures after a car accident.
- Damage to cartilage: There’s a significant amount of cartilage in the shoulder to provide strength and support movement. When this cartilage becomes damaged, pain and loss of mobility can result.
If you are experiencing shoulder pain after a car accident, it’s a good idea to speak with a car accident doctor as soon as possible. It’s usually better to detect and treat shoulder injuries as quickly as possible. This can prevent complications and associated injuries from occurring.
How to Prevent and Treat Shoulder Injuries
Car accidents can be difficult to prevent entirely. Even if you’re the safest driver in the world, successful prevention will depend at least in part on what other drivers are doing. This means that the best prevention is to ensure you are wearing your seatbelt properly and obey the rules of the road to the best of your ability.
Home Treatment
After examining your shoulder, your car accident doctor may recommend that you treat your shoulder injury at home. In these cases, it’s likely that you are experiencing a minor injury that your body can take care of on its own.
Home care can often include:
- Rest and icing: You may be instructed to use the RICE (rest, icing, compression, and elevation) method to help control swelling and promote healing. By reducing swelling, you’ll give your body a better chance to heal quickly on its own.
- Light stretching and exercise: Your arm may be immobile while it heals. But that doesn’t mean the rest of your body should be. Making sure you get some light exercise (for example, an easy walk) can help ensure that your muscles stay flexible and that you heal well.
- Over-the-counter pain medication: Sometimes, you’ll need help managing the pain associated with your injury. Your doctor may recommend that you take over-the-counter pain medication to help you get through the day. However, you should be careful that you aren’t relying on OTC pain meds too often. This could mean you’re masking your symptoms (and you won’t notice if they get worse). If you’re taking OTC pain medication often, consult with your car accident doctor immediately.
Physical Therapy for a Car Accident Shoulder Injury
Your provider may decide that home treatment may not be enough or your shoulder injury. In some cases, this may be evident from the first X-ray. For others, the move to physical therapy may happen after healing at home has not worked.
Physical therapy has been a proven, non surgical way to improve chronic shoulder pain and pain resulting from car accidents. Your physical therapist may use:
- Rehabilitative tools, such as resistance bands and more.
- Strengthening exercises to help you build necessary muscle mass.
- Manual exercises designed to get your blood circulating.
Physical therapy can often help you heal from a wide variety of shoulder injuries, including rotator cuff injuries, sprains and strains, and more. In many cases, a good physical therapy treatment plan can even help you avoid surgery down the road.
If you’re experiencing pain related to a car accident shoulder injury, seek treatment as soon as possible. Talk to the experienced care team at Diaspo today and get back to living your daily life without pain!
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