SUFFERING A SHOULDER INJURY AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT

Shoulder Injuries Frequently Occur in Florida Work Comp Cases As Well

Everyone knows that a car accident can cause neck pain or lower back pain. However, a shoulder injury is also very common in an automobile accident and often goes undetected.

After a car accident, it is important to look for these symptoms to determine whether your shoulder was injured in the crash:

-- Loss of range of motion in your shoulder. Try to differentiate the restricted range of motion from the loss of range of motion in your neck.

-- Pain in the shoulder or upper extremity.

-- Weakness in your shoulder or in your arm. This may be coming from your cervical spine, but also could be because of an injury to your shoulder.

-- Ecchymosis. Check for bruising around the shoulder, particularly where the seat belt harass lays on the shoulder. If there is bruising, it is important that you mention this to your doctor.

-- Muscle aches, swelling and numbness or tingling in your hand or arm. This may be from your neck injury, but your doctor can perform orthopedic testing to determine if there is an underlying shoulder injury causing the problems.

After a car accident, it is important that you talk to your doctor about your symptoms so he or she can understand the exact extent of your injuries. If there is a shoulder injury from the car accident, treatment may include medications, physical therapy, trigger-point injections into muscle spasms with such drugs as Lidocaine, a local anesthetic. Treatment for shoulder injuries could also include spinal injection or epidural steroid injections. Surgery for the shoulder injury may also be required.

If you have medical questions about possible shoulder injuries from a car accident, motorcycle crash, workers' compensation claim or other accident, make sure you talk to a doctor about them. For answers to legal questions after an accident, contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes for a free case consultation. Attorney Noyes' Clearwater personal injury law firm--Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes, P.A.--has been caring for clients since 1955. Contact them today!