Hi, My name is Matt Eason. This video will explain how long you should expect to be sore after a car accident. I have been practicing personal injury law for over 25 years in Sacramento.
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I have dealt with hundreds of cases in which clients call me a couple of days after the accident and ask simply, “How long is this soreness going to last?” By definition, the question refers to how long you will be sore after an accident, somewhat different from how long you might be injured.
After a first gym session in a long time, you will wake up in the morning sore, and that soreness at that level usually lasts for about two full days. You are still sore on the third and fourth days, but it is more of a moderate soreness. By day five and six, it is usually a mild soreness. By day seven, you’re unsure if you’re sore or if it’s between the ears, and you don’t want to go back to the gym. For most people, by day eight, you are completely recovered, and you can go back to the gym. If you’re not, that’s usually a sign that you did something more significant than overworking your muscles.
A car accident lifecycle is very similar to going to the gym, except that instead of two days, two days, and two days, it typically is two to three weeks, two to three weeks, and two to three weeks. The reason for the extended period from a car accident to the gym is that you overwork one muscle or muscle group when you go to the gym. For a few days, you relax and rest those muscles. Unfortunately, you overworked several muscles or several muscle groups from a car accident, so those muscles are pulling on each other and fighting each other for attention.
We will have clients come in and say, “Yesterday, the pain was in my neck. It’s in my back today, and an hour ago, it was in my shoulder.” The pain feels like it’s moving around because it’s a constant tug of war between your muscles for attention. It’s that tug of war, and the muscle’s inability to rest typically has the pain lasting instead of two days, two days, and two days lasting two to three weeks, two to three weeks, and two to three weeks.
When you go to the doctor’s office or hospital after a car accident, one of the most common drugs they prescribe you is a drug called Flexeril. It’s a name brand for a muscle relaxant, and as a muscle relaxant, it does just that. It’s a big giant pill to get your muscles just to back off each other and stop fighting each other. Unfortunately, Flexeril is probably the number one drug taken one time and then never again because it just makes you feel icky.
Most people have better results with some kind of holistic therapy instead of drugs. Physical therapy is a great remedy. In addition, chiropractic care and acupressure or acupuncture can be great holistic treatments for muscle tissue injuries. Hopefully, getting that type of holistic care can accelerate your healing time and thus reduce the length of time you’re sore overall.
Like when you go to the gym and you get past the eight-day mark, if you are still in a lot of pain, that is usually a sign that you need to follow up with a physician for possibly some imaging to determine if you tore a muscle and need some surgical intervention or something else. A car accident is very similar when you get past week six, eight, or ten, and you are still in a lot of pain, then that is usually a good sign that you need to get into a physician. You may need an MRI or some other type of imaging to determine exactly what is wrong with you.
I’ve been practicing law for over 25 years. I am not a doctor; however, we’ve seen pattern after pattern as to how long pain typically lasts, and hopefully, this video explains some of those intricacies for you. If you’ve been in a car accident or otherwise have a personal injury matter and would like to talk to an attorney, I hope you would consider calling us. My name again is Matt Eason. I’m with the car accident law firm of Eason & Tambornini. We are located at 1234 H Street, Suite 200, Sacramento, California 95814; the phone is a great way to reach us at 916-438-1819.
