Herniated Disc After Auto Accident? What You Need To Know

Health & Medical Blog

If you were recently involved in an auto accident and have been experiencing back pain ever since, then this back pain could stem from a number of back injury types that can occur during an auto accident. However, one common cause of post-accident back pain is a herniated disc.

A herniated disc develops when the tough exterior shell of the jelly-like discs that lie between back vertebrae, or bones, cracks or becomes damaged in another way. When this shell is damaged, the soft tissue inside of the disc can leak through this damaged area and place pressure on spine nerves, causing back pain. 

Read on to learn all you need to know about a herniated disc that develops due to auto accident trauma and treatment for this painful condition. 

Herniated Disc Signs

Since back pain can be caused by many medical conditions along with everyday stress placed on the back and spine, you should visit a physician any time you experience back pain after an auto accident to obtain medical tests, such as an MRI and/or X-ray, that can help the physician determine the true cause of your back pain. 

However, just a few signs that your back pain may be caused by a herniate disc include: 

  • Lower back or neck pain. Herniated discs are most likely to occur in the lower back, although neck, or cervical, discs can also become herniated less frequently. 
  • Numbness, tingling, or weakness on only one side of the body. These symptoms occur when the herniated disc places pressure on a nerve that only sends nervous system signals to either the right or left side of the body. 
  • Pain. Herniated lower back discs typically cause pain in the back and legs, while herniated cervical discs tend to cause pain in the arms and shoulders. 

Keep in mind that you may have a herniated disc and only one or two of these symptoms, all of them, or none at all. 

Auto Injury Therapy for Herniated Discs

The good news is that if you suffered a herniated disc in an auto accident, you likely do not need invasive surgery to correct this back injury. Instead, your physician will likely recommend a short period of rest following by auto injury therapy. 

Auto injury therapies that can help ease herniated disc pain while expediting the healing process include stretching exercises, electronic muscle stimulation, ultrasound therapy, and massage. 

Your doctor may also recommend that you take an over-the-counter pain reliever and/or obtain pain-relieving steroid injections at the injury site to relieve back pain as the herniated disc heals. 

If your condition does not improve after four to six weeks of auto injury therapy, then herniated disc surgery may be an option. 

If you were recently in an auto accident and now have back pain, then this pain could be the sign of a herniated disc in your back. Thankfully, auto injury therapy can likely expedite injury recovery while reducing the back pain it causes. 

For more information about herniated dics or auto injury therapy, contact a physical therapy office in your area.

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22 October 2021

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