Emergency Room: When to Go to an ER for Car Wreck: Back, Shoulder Blade or Rib Cage Pain
Most of the cases involving injuries in emergency rooms around the country, including the highly rated frontlineer.com, are usually as a result of car wrecks. Despite the progress that has been made to try and reduce car accidents, from safe-driving and safety on the road campaigns to a focus on safety features on the new models of cars being released into the market, car accidents continue to be a thorn in the flesh out there. While car accidents have got the potential to cause different types of injuries, there are some that are more common than others, as discussed in detail over at the excellent frontlineer.com, where common car-accident injuries are discussed. Among these common car wreck injuries are back, shoulder and rib injuries. These injuries are usually as a result of the impact caused by the car wreck, with these parts of the body being particularly vulnerable during such accidents. This is why back, shoulder blade and rib cage pain are among the most common symptoms experienced by car wreck victims. These symptoms may be indicative of some pretty serious injuries, which is why it is important to know when to go to an ER for the same, something this article, with the help of the excellent frontlineer.com, will look to help with.
We are going to start with back pain which, as per the gurus over at the highly rated frontlineer.com, can be classified either as lower back pain or upper back pain. The part of the spine that is between the rib cage and the pelvis is what is referred to as the lower back. Lower back pain after a car wreck can be a sign of injuries to the vertebra, facets, discs or nerves or it could be as a result of the ligaments, muscles and tendons of the spine. One of the most common serious injuries one can suffer as a result of an injury to the lower back following a car wreck is a herniated disc, which occurs when a disc of the spine bulges outwards from its position. Severe cases may lead to the herniated disc coming into contact with nerve roots in the lower back, leading to what is called spinal stenosis. The pressure on the nerve roots due to the herniated disk will lead to severe lower back pain as well as numbness that may radiated from the lower back to the buttocks and even to the legs. If you are experiencing such symptoms after a car accident, you should have yourself taken to an ER as soon as possible.
Upper back injuries are also common during car wrecks and lead to upper back pain. The area of the back between where the neck meets the shoulders and the bottom of the ribcage is what is referred to as the upper back, or the thoracic spine by doctors and subject matter experts including those over at frontlineer.com. Injury to the bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons and nerves found here is what causes the upper back pain. One of the major emergencies as far as back pain here is concerned is a herniated disc touching the spinal cord. Symptoms of this serious condition include numbness, tingling in one or both legs, weakness in the muscles of the upper and middle back, changes in bowel or bladder function particularly incontinence as well as paralysis from the waist down. If you are experiencing such symptoms to go with your back pain, then you should have yourself taken to an ER as soon as possible.
Injuries to the shoulder are also pretty common place as far as car wrecks go which is why shoulder blade pain is a pretty common symptom to those involved in such accidents. As per the gurus over at frontlineer.com, of all the joints in the body, the shoulder is probably the most complex this is why shoulder blade pain after a car wreck can be due to a number of injuries, some of which are severe and require one to go to an ER. One of these injuries is a severe tear of the rotator cuff, which may require surgery to be fixed. Symptoms of such an injury include severe pain when lifting and lowering the affected arm, a popping sound during the injury as well as weakness in the affected shoulder when you try to move it. You may also suffer a severe labral tear, where the labrum, which is the rubbery cartilage attached to the rim of the shoulder socket, gets torn. Symptoms of this type of injury include severe pain with movement of the shoulder, severe instability in the shoulder, severely reduced range of motion, loss of strength among others and this to will require surgery to fix the severely torn labrum as per the gurus over at frontlineer.com. Another serious shoulder injury that may result to shoulder blade pain that is worth going to the ER over is a shoulder dislocation. This occurs when the ball found at the end of the humerus pops out of its position. Symptoms of a dislocated shoulder include severe and constant pain in the shoulder blade, difficulty moving the arm, a feeling the arm is out of place, deformity on the affected shoulder among others. A dislocated shoulder should always lead to a visit to an ER. Your shoulder blade pain may also be a result of a shoulder fracture which occurs when one of the bones that make up the shoulder breaks. This means that there are 3 types of shoulder fractures; clavicle fractures, scapula fractures and proximal humerus fractures. Signs of a shoulder fracture include severe shoulder blade pain, swelling and tenderness, pain at the site of fracture when trying to move the shoulder as well as deformity. All these are signs that you need to go to an ER to be attended to.
Finally, we are going to look at rib cage pain and when to go to an ER for the same. As per the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, rib cage pain is caused by injuries to the ribs which are usually as a result of the impact due to the car wreck, particularly when one smashes into the seat belt, dashboard, steering wheel and so forth. One may either suffer bruised or fractured ribs, with the latter being more serious. Symptoms to look out for that may indicate fractured ribs, as discussed in detail over at frontlineer.com, include severe pain around the rib cage, chest pain that becomes more severe when breathing, tenderness in the rib cage area as well as increased pain when you touch the area of the rib cage. If you are experiencing such symptoms, you should also head over to an ER so that you can be attended to, keeping in mind that fractured ribs can also injure internal organs such as the lungs among others.
As always, there is more information to be gathered on this and other related topics by checking out the highly rated frontlineer.com, which is also the best place to go to if you are experiencing such symptoms after a car wreck.
