According to the NHTA, a car accident happens every 60 seconds in the United States. This amounts to more than five million accidents with drastic injuries each year.

Of course, not every person who gets in a car accident suffers an injury. But at least 3 million people do on an annual basis. These injuries vary greatly in severity. Sometimes, an injured person knows immediately that something is wrong. Other times, it can take hours or even days for symptoms to crop up.

If you have been involved in an accident recently, you may wonder exactly how long it can take for an injury to show up. Keep reading to learn everything about the delayed symptoms, and how a chiropractor can help.  

Common Car Accident Injuries

The vast majority of car accident injuries manifest immediately. After all, if you have a broken arm or a fractured wrist, it won’t take you long to figure that out. 

Unfortunately, breaks and fractures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the possible injury facing a car crash victim. Potential consequences include:

• Internal injuries
• Whiplash
• Burns
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back injuries
• Pulled muscles

And sometimes, there’s no visible sign of an injury at all. Instead, a victim may later begin to experience headaches, nausea, blurry vision, neck stiffness, and more. In these cases, it can take hours, days, or even weeks for symptoms to appear. 

What to Do About Delayed Injuries

If you begin to experience any of the symptoms we’ve mentioned above, visit your doctor immediately. If the pain pops up outside of normal visit hours, consider a trip to the E.R. That way, you can catch severe health concerns before they worsen.

If you’ve tried simple treatments and over-the-counter pain medication to no avail, it may be time to make a trip to the chiropractor. We especially recommend chiropractic care if you have experienced whiplash or have any of these symptoms:

• Muscle tingling or burning
• Pain in your back, shoulders, or arms
• Constant headaches
• Nausea

Whiplash is an injury that can arise slowly. So if you have one of these symptoms and it continues to worsen, it’s a good idea to check in with a chiropractor. 

Choose Veeva Chiropractic Clinic 

Our clinic is dedicated to getting you back to full health after an accident. If you are suffering from whiplash or another injury, we can treat the condition in a natural and non-invasive way. Simply visit our contact page to get in touch.