Below are the three biggest myths about auto accident injuries.

1. If you can’t see the injury, it must not exist.

People believe that if someone is not visibly hurt from a car accident, then they are faking it to obtain insurance money. Well, believe it or not, everyone suffering from musculoskeletal and neurological pain is not a con artist.

Insurance companies are the culprits, in this case; they have repeatedly made car accident victims who suffer from neck, shoulder, or back pain feel like liars. They imply that suffering from common car accident injuries is abnormal and some crime, and that these people are attempting to commit insurance fraud.

The fact of the matter is; it is extremely common to experience pain after a collision. It is not suspicious of you to see a chiropractor and take care of your health after an accident, but rather it is responsible and healthy.

2. If there is no serious damage to the vehicle, then no serious injury has occurred.

Most people believe that car crash injuries are in direct proportion to the amount of damage sustained by the wrecked vehicle. If you were involved in a tiny fender bender that barely left a scratch on your bumper, but still claim your neck hurts, be prepared for people to claim you are a fraud looking for an insurance payout.

While the truth is, no matter how small a car accident is, an injury is always possible. The most common injuries sustained in smaller vehicle collisionsare soft tissue damage, which could potentially cause on-going arthritic issues.

It is also possible that in smaller less damaging car accidents, that larger injuries can occur. When an automobile does not absorb the majority of an impact, the people inside usually do. This often results in whiplash and bodies being jerked around. Overall, whiplash and similar injuries are far more common in car accidents with little to no damage to the vehicle.

3. If you don’t feel pain immediately, then you are not injured from the crash.

After a severe car accident most people will feel pain from their injuries immediately, but this not always the case. When your body is put in a dangerous situation, your adrenaline kicks in, and you may not even notice that you are injured right away. Some injuries will even take days, weeks, or months to show symptoms.

There are a few reasons injuries may take a little time to show symptoms. The first is swelling and inflammation. This takes place over time, so you may not immediately notice anything wrong. The second is that people normally “take it easy” from strenuous activities after a car accident.

Therefore, when they return to daily life and activities, they begin to notice all of their injuries and pain. Lastly, is something referred to as “pain gating.” This means that your body will focus on the biggest and most painful of the injuries. Until that particular injury subsides the multiple other, slightly less severe injures, will not be noticeable to you.

If you are experiencing no pain after an auto accident, it is still recommended that you see an accident doctor immediately. This way, a doctor will be able to thoroughly examine you to ensure nothing is wrong, or they may discover an injury that would not have shown symptoms until weeks or months later. It is best to see an accident doctor no more than two weeks after a car crash occurs, so you can document your injuries earlier and avoid concerns by your insurance carrier.

Now that you know 3 Common Myths about Auto Accident Injuries, ff you or someone you know was injured in a car accident, call our top accident doctor, chiropractic neurologist, Dr. Howard Austrager, today at 508-620-1585 or click –> schedule an appointment.