Honolulu Car Accident Injury
A Honolulu automobile accident injury can affect many different parts of the body. Such personal injuries commonly involve the head, neck or back, but an auto accident injury can also impact internal organs as well as upper and lower limbs.
It is not at all unusual that following an auto accident, a person will feel okay, or maybe just a little sore. And then, within 24-48 hours, they will develop more serious pain. That is why it is important to go to the Emergency Room if you feel anything at all after an accident. The early tests can help diagnose these internal or hidden injuries. When therapy starts sooner, often the result is better.
Head
One of the most serious types of car accident injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when the head hits something inside the car. Even without any open wound or blood, this injury can lead to permanent or temporary impairment of brain functions.
When they occur as the result of an auto accident, brain injuries are seen more often in side impact accidents and are often caused by the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain during impact. This injures the brain both at the point of impact and at the point of the brain directly opposite the impact.
Diagnosing a brain injury may be difficult and often requires CT or MRI scans.
Neck
Neck injuries run the gamut from common “whiplash” which can sometimes resolve in a few weeks, to more severe disk or ligament or soft-tissue injuries.
Another type of automobile accident injury in Honolulu, temporalmandibular joint (TMJ) injury, damages the joints and ligaments of the jaw, and may affect chewing, eating, and speech.
The discs of the neck can also be damaged in a car accident. These discs consist of an outer skin, or annulus, that surrounds a soft inner nucleus. When an annulus tears, the disc may herniate and require surgery. Neck discs may also bulge, slip, or rupture. Such an injury is often not diagnosed for months following the accident itself.
Back
The thoracic and lumbar discs in the back may be injured in a car accident. Compression fractures commonly cause permanent disability, and herniations or bulges of back discs may result in spinal cord compression. Such injuries may require surgery or even spinal fusion.
Back nerves, ligaments, and muscles may also be traumatized in much the same way as a whiplashed neck, resulting in pain or inflammation.
Internal organs
Car accidents frequently fracture ribs, which can in turn puncture or damage internal organs. Car accidents can injure the bowels, kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs, heart, or aorta.
Limbs
Limbs are often injured in car accidents. Arms, shoulders, wrists, fingers, hips, legs, knees, and feet are often fractured, occasionally requiring surgery and physical therapy. Sometimes shoulder or thoracic injuries are caused by the deceleration and twisting of the body restrained by a seat belt (still, it’s almost always a lot better than not having a seat belt on).
Rotator cuff injuries are also common in car accidents. MRI scans are often required to identify such tears, but doctors rarely order them immediately after a car accident due to cost. Serious shoulder injuries of this nature may require reconstruction.
