Accident injury care in Queen Creek
Sprains involve the ligaments that connect bone to bone; strains involve the muscles and tendons.
In a car accident, both are common — and often both are present at once in the same region, since the forces of a collision rarely affect a single tissue type in isolation. This is the injury category that underlies whiplash, most shoulder and knee accident injuries, and a large share of back and neck pain following a crash.
Understanding this injury
Soft tissue injuries are sometimes treated as a lesser concern compared to fractures or disc injuries, since they don’t show up clearly on an X-ray. But soft tissue damage is exactly what determines how a joint moves, how well it’s supported, and how much guarding and compensation develop in the weeks after an accident. Left untreated, it’s frequently the source of pain that lingers long after “the big stuff” has been ruled out.
We grade the severity of the sprain or strain using specific orthopedic testing, identify which structures and regions are involved, and determine how the injury relates to any joint or nerve involvement in the same area.
Sprains and strains heal. What determines whether they heal into full function or into a chronically guarded, weaker version of what was there before is whether the tissue actually gets rebuilt to handle real demand again.
Mild sprains and strains often resolve within three to six weeks; more significant grade injuries can take longer, particularly when multiple regions are involved simultaneously.
What determines whether they heal into full function or into a chronically guarded, weaker version of what was there before is whether the tissue actually gets rebuilt to handle real demand again — not just given time to stop hurting.
Sprains and strains are the injury underneath most of what a car accident produces — treating them thoroughly, not just resting them, is what prevents them from becoming a long-term problem.
Call 911 or go to the emergency room for severe pain, a head injury, confusion, a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, numbness or weakness, or trouble breathing. Once serious injury has been ruled out, we can evaluate the soft tissue, joint, and nerve injuries an accident often leaves behind.
Request an appointment online, or call (480) 788-3424 to speak with the office.
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