Is a Car Accident Dangerous for Your Spine?
You use your spine multiple times each day, but you seldom think about it. From walking in the store to climbing the stairs at work and bending to pick up a toy your child left on the floor, your spine plays a key role in almost every movement you make. A car accident can impact your ability to go about your normal activities and result in serious consequences that may be permanent.
A spine injury is one of the most common injuries sustained in a car accident. Spinal cord and back injuries can range in severity from minor pain to permanent disability. Below are several types of spinal cord injuries our personal injury attorneys see in car accident cases.
Spinal Cord Injury
The spinal cord links your brain to all of the other parts of your body. It carries messages from your brain to your muscles, nerves, and other systems to control your movements and sensory ability. When the spinal cord is injured in a car accident, it can damage the nerves thereby impairing the brain’s ability to send messages to specific areas of the body. This may result in paralysis.
Paralysis may be complete or partial. With complete paralysis, you feel no sensations and you are unable to move the area of the body that is paralyzed. With partial paralysis, you
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Compression fractures are tiny cracks that can worsen over time. The result of a compression fracture is that the structure of the spine may change permanently. One of the most serious aspects of these fractures is people do not realize the problem at the time because the pain associated with a compression fracture is minor. It is not until later when the cracks have healed incorrectly and the results are permanent damage that the full extent of the injury is apparent. The main symptoms are difficulty breathing and pain in the back. You may notice a change in posture, which is often mistaken to be a normal sign of