When a car smashes into the back of yours, the force travels straight through the car and into your body. It might not look that bad from the outside, but that sudden jolt can mess with your muscles, bones, spine, and even your brain.
Your head can snap forward and backward, your body can twist in unnatural ways, and depending on where you’re sitting or how your body is positioned, different parts of you are at risk of getting hurt.
This is why rear-end crashes can cause such a wide range of injuries. You don’t have to be driving fast for it to be serious either; lower speeds can still result in injuries that last months or longer.
Common Rear-end Injury Accidents
Here are the most common types of injuries people suffer after rear-end collision accidents:
Neck, back, and spinal injuries
These are some of the most common injuries after being rear-ended. The most well-known one is whiplash, which is that sharp, painful feeling when your neck jerks back and forth too fast. But it can go way beyond that.
The impact can cause the spine to become unstable. You might have a herniated disc, where one of the discs in your spine slips out and presses on a nerve. It can even mess with your ability to move and cause numbness in your limbs. You might wake up days or weeks after the crash and suddenly feel stiff, sore, or entirely out of alignment.
Torn muscles and broken bones
Broken bones are one of the more obvious injuries after a car crash. Your arm, leg, ribs, or even your collarbone can break if the impact is strong enough. But there’s also something called soft tissue injuries.
That’s when your muscles, ligaments, or tendons get overstretched or torn. You might not see anything on the outside, but it can still be painful and make it hard to move.
Arm, leg, and joint injuries
If your hands are on the steering wheel when the crash happens, the force can shoot straight up into your arms and shoulders. That can lead to sprains, dislocations, or even fractures. Your knees are also vulnerable, especially if they slam into the dashboard.
That kind of impact can tear cartilage or ligaments, bruise bones, or cause fractures. It’s not always visible, but if your joints start swelling or locking up after a crash, that’s a major red flag.
Head and brain injuries
A blow to the head during a crash is one of the most serious injuries you can have. But the thing is, you might not even realize you’re hurt at first. Some brain injuries, like concussions, bleeding, or brain tissue tearing, might not immediately be visible while causing damage internally.
You might feel okay after the crash, and then days later, start having headaches, confusion, memory issues, or trouble focusing. All of that could mean you have a traumatic brain injury.
Internal injuries
Internal injuries are sneaky. You might look fine on the outside, but the crash could’ve caused damage inside your body.
If you were crushed against something, hit by debris, or slammed into the seat belt hard enough, your organs could be bruised or bleeding. You could have internal bleeding, organ damage, or something called a collapsed lung.
Fire and chemical burns
If the car catches fire, if hot metal or steam comes in contact with your skin, or if chemicals spill inside the vehicle, you can end up with burns. Your burn injuries can become infected, result in severe scarring, and sometimes require surgery. Even if the burn looks small, it could go deeper into the skin than you think.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.