Pinched Nerve After a Car Accident: What Does It Feel Like?
After a car accident, it is common to experience soreness, stiffness, or general muscle pain. But what if your symptoms feel different?
Tingling. Numbness. Burning. Shooting pain. A sensation that travels from your neck or back into your arm or leg.
Many people describe these symptoms as a “pinched nerve.”
A pinched or irritated nerve can be especially frustrating after an auto accident because the symptoms may not appear immediately. Understanding what these symptoms can mean can help you know when it is time to have your condition evaluated.
What Does a Pinched Nerve Feel Like?
A pinched nerve doesn't always feel like ordinary muscle soreness.
Depending on which nerves are affected, you may experience:
- Tingling or pins-and-needles
- Numbness
- Burning sensations
- Sharp or shooting pain
- Pain that travels into an arm or leg
- Weakness
- Increased symptoms with certain movements or positions
For example, irritation of a nerve in the neck may cause discomfort that travels from the neck into the shoulder, arm, or hand.
Irritation in the lower back may cause symptoms that travel through the buttock and into the leg.
These symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for a simple pulled muscle, particularly following a car accident.
How Can a Car Accident Irritate a Nerve?
A collision places sudden forces on the body that can affect the spine, joints, muscles, ligaments, and discs.
The rapid movement of the body during a collision can contribute to inflammation and changes in how the surrounding structures move.
In some cases, these changes can irritate a nearby nerve.
A pre-existing condition can also become symptomatic after an accident. Someone may have had a disc bulge, degenerative changes, or other spinal issue without significant symptoms before the collision, only to notice new pain afterward.
This is one reason an evaluation after an auto accident can be useful even when the initial symptoms don't seem severe.
Why Can Symptoms Appear Days After an Accident?
One of the most confusing things about auto accident injuries is that you don't always feel them immediately.
After a collision, your body's initial stress response can temporarily mask discomfort. Inflammation and muscle tension may also develop over the hours and days that follow.
As your body settles down, symptoms may become more noticeable.
You might wake up the day after a wreck with a stiff neck. A few days later, you may notice tingling in your arm or pain that travels farther down your leg.
Delayed symptoms don't necessarily mean the problem isn't related to the accident.
Is a Pinched Nerve the Same as a Herniated Disc?
Not necessarily.
A herniated or bulging disc can sometimes contribute to nerve irritation, but there are several possible causes of nerve-related symptoms.
Muscle inflammation, joint dysfunction, swelling, and other changes around the spine can also contribute to discomfort.
That's why it is better to have symptoms properly evaluated rather than assuming that every case of shooting pain is a herniated disc or “pinched nerve.”
When Should You Get Checked After a Car Accident?
If you develop persistent pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, or shooting pain following a collision, it is worth getting evaluated as soon as possible.
You should be particularly attentive to symptoms that are getting worse rather than gradually improving.
A chiropractic examination can help identify areas of restricted movement, muscular tension, and other findings that may be contributing to your symptoms. Depending on the circumstances, additional medical evaluation or imaging may also be appropriate.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help After an Auto Accident?
Treatment depends on the individual and the nature of the injury.
At Melot Chiropractic, care for auto accident injuries may include chiropractic adjustments, therapeutic exercises, stretching, soft-tissue techniques, massage and other rehabilitation therapies.
The objective is to restore normal movement, address contributing factors, and help you return to your normal activities.
Chiropractic care is not appropriate for every injury, which is why an individual evaluation is important before beginning treatment.
Don't Ignore Numbness or Tingling After a Wreck
It's easy to dismiss soreness after a car accident as something that will eventually go away.
But symptoms such as numbness, tingling, burning, or shooting pain can be signs that something more than ordinary muscle soreness is occurring.
If you've recently been involved in an accident and are experiencing these symptoms, consider having them evaluated rather than simply waiting for them to disappear.
Injured in a Car Accident in Cedar Park, TX or Georgetown, TX?
Melot Chiropractic provides chiropractic care and rehabilitation for auto accident injuries in Georgetown, Cedar Park, and the surrounding Austin area.
If you're experiencing neck pain, back pain, headaches, numbness, tingling, or other symptoms following a collision, call (512) 710-8106 to schedule an evaluation.
Melot Chiropractic
Car Accident Chiropractic Care & Auto Accident Rehabilitation
Cedar Park, TX & Georgetown, TX