Do not ignore your symptoms if your shoulder hurts after a car accident. If the pain worsens, you can schedule an appointment with one of our Eason & Tambornini personal injury lawyers. Our lawyers can help you understand why you have shoulder and arm pain from an accident, why you developed neck and shoulder pain after a car accident, what causes shoulder blade pain from an accident, and how you can get a rotator cuff tear in an accident. These can be very painful and affect your day-to-day activities, so give one of our Eason & Tambornini personal injury lawyers a call for help.
Why do I have shoulder and arm pain from an accident?
It’s widespread for shoulder and arm pain to develop if you’ve been in an automobile accident. The impact from the collision, the locking of the seatbelt as the force propels you forward, and your upper body hitting the steering wheel can do extensive damage to your neck, shoulder, and upper body regions.
Pain is the first sensation you’ll feel as the impact damages the soft tissues. There could be other injuries in your shoulder and arm, especially since muscles can be stretched to abnormal lengths, resulting in tendons and ligament tearing. If the impact is severe, it could result in broken bones and fractures.
Pain medications can control pain, but surgery may be required to repair the damage from extensive shoulder and arm injuries. Physical therapy may also be prescribed to prevent any range of motion limitations and atrophy of muscles.
Why do I have neck and shoulder pain after a car accident?
Another common injury sustained in car accidents is neck and shoulder pain. These injuries can result from whiplash, in which the head accelerates and decelerates abruptly in response to a sudden collision. When the head whips back from the impact, it can compress the neck structures, such as the nerves, nerve roots, ligaments, tendons, and intervertebral discs.
If these structures are injured, it could lead to a herniated disc, pinched nerves, neck muscle strain, tendon and ligament tears, and even cervical bone fracture. Symptoms include localized pain in the neck, radiating pain to the shoulder and fingertips, limitation in range of motion, muscle weakness and numbness, and tingling sensations.
It would be best if you did not ignore these symptoms. Taking pain and anti-inflammatory medications may help control pain and swelling. If left untreated, your injuries could result in improper healing of the structures that will worsen your injuries.
What causes shoulder blade pain from an accident?
In addition to causing the symptoms mentioned above, a whiplash injury can also cause shoulder blade pain. The injury doesn’t just affect the neck and shoulder regions, but it could also affect the upper back as well. There may be facet joint fractures, herniation of the cervical and upper thoracic intervertebral discs, and affectation of nerves and nerve roots.
If the nerve and nerve roots are damaged, they could cause referred pain radiating down the neck to the upper back, from the neck down to the fingertips, or even headache-like shooting pain. The type and location of the pain and associated symptoms depend on the nerves affected and the areas they supply.
Untreated shoulder blade pain could lead to a restricted range of motion, muscle spasms and stiffness, and chronic pain.
How do you get a rotator cuff tear in an accident?
The rotator cuff comprises four muscles: the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. These muscles work together to stabilize the shoulder socket and facilitate arm movements.
There are several ways to injure this group of muscles – repetitive and forceful movements, irritation and inflammation of the tendons, ligaments, and bursa, as well as direct blows to the rotator cuff, such as accidents.
The collision’s impact could cause sudden traumatic and destructive injuries to the rotator cuff muscles, tendon and ligament tears, and compression of the bursa. These injuries can result in pain, loss of shoulder motion, and the development of bone spurs. Bone spurs usually develop from bone fractures that do not heal properly, joint injuries, and unstable joints.
What can you do?
The aforementioned upper body injuries resulting from vehicular accidents can be severe. If not addressed immediately, they could lead to improper healing, worsening your injuries. They could also contribute to the development of degenerative diseases in the future. These injuries take time to heal and can get expensive to treat.
You do not have to suffer from shoulder pain and bear the expenses alone, especially if another driver’s negligence caused the vehicular accident. Please call our office and one of our car accident lawyers in Sacramento will answer your questions about shoulder and arm pain, neck and shoulder pain, shoulder blade pain, or a rotator cuff tear resulting from a car accident. Our car accident attorneys in Sacramento can help you file a lawsuit should your shoulder hurt after a car accident.
