Hi, My name is Matt Eason. This video will give you a little insight into 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 where 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, which is somewhat different from how long you might be injured after an accident.
After a first gym session in a long time, you will wake up in the morning really sore, and that soreness at that level usually lasts for about two full days. On the third and fourth day, you are still sore, but it is more of a moderate soreness. By day five and six, it is usually a mild soreness. By day seven, you’re not sure if you’re sore or not or if it’s between the ears, and you just don’t want to go back to the gym. For most people, by day eight, you are completely recovered, you can go back to the gym, and if you’re not then, that’s usually a sign that you did something more significant than just overworked your muscles.
A car accident lifecycle is very similar to that of going to the gym except for instead of being 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 longer time-period from a car accident to the gym is because when you went to the gym, you overworked one single muscle or one single muscle group. For a few days, you just 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 they will say, “Yesterday the pain was in my neck. Today it’s in my back, 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 is what 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 a better result with some kind of holistic therapy instead of drugs. Obviously, physical therapy is a great remedy. In addition, chiropractic care and acupressure or acupuncture can be great holistic treatments for a muscle tissue injury. Hopefully, by getting that type of holistic care, it 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 actually tore a muscle and need some kind of 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 to have 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 obviously not a doctor; however, we’ve seen pattern after 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 you would like to talk to an attorney, I hope you would consider calling us. My name again is Matt Eason. I’m with the law firm of Eason & Tambornini. We are located at 1234 H Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, California 95814, or you can find us on the web at https://www.capcitylaw.com/sacramento-car-accident-attorneys/, and of course, the phone is a great way to reach us at 916-438-1819.
