The most painful injuries are not always the ones you can see; this applies to physical pain as well as emotional pain. How many times has a curmudgeon grumbled when an ostensibly healthy person got out of a car in a parking space reserved for people with disabilities? Sometimes the curmudgeon’s traveling companion will point out that the person’s ability to walk long distances might be limited, even though he or she does not use a wheelchair or crutches, and no signs of injury are visible from a few parking spaces away.
Of course, some injuries that cause chronic pain are invisible not only to grumpy strangers in parking lots but also to state-of-the-art medical imaging technology. These injuries cause pain; nonetheless, pain can interfere with your economic productivity, and treatment of pain leads to medical bills. Soft tissue injuries can be difficult to treat, but getting insurance companies to pay for their treatment after a car accident can be an even bigger challenge. If you are suffering from soft tissue injury symptoms and the associated medical bills after a car accident, contact a Santa Fe car accident lawyer.
What are Soft Tissue Injuries?
Soft tissue injuries are injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. They often result from trauma, such as in a car accident, but they can also be the result of repetitive strain, such as working at a physically strenuous job for many years. Soft tissues often get injured when there is a bone fracture or an external injury that requires stitches, but they can also occur by themselves, without these other, more dramatic-looking injuries. Muscle sprains, torn ligaments, and tendinitis are examples of soft tissue injuries, as are whiplash injury, which is a sprain of the muscles of the neck and upper back, and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is an injury to the nerves of an injured arm or leg.
Treatment for Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissues heal on their own as the cells of the affected tissues regenerate. There is no quick way to fix them, such as by stitching a wound or setting a fractured bone. Doctors may want to immobilize the injured body part for a few weeks, and they might want you to avoid putting weight on it or using it normally, to give it a chance to heal. Therefore, supportive treatment for the management of symptoms is a common approach to soft tissue injuries.
Eventually, you will need to rebuild the function of the injured body part. The usual way to do this is through physical therapy, where exercises and medical devices help you return as much as possible to using the injured body part the way you did before the accident. If you file a car accident claim, you can request compensation for physical therapy expenses and the associated medical devices.
Contact Slate Stern About Car Accident Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in car accidents in New Mexico. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://respmr.com/road-to-recovery-the-role-of-physical-therapy-after-a-car-accident/
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash