Why Hip and Leg Pain Should Never Be Ignored Following a Car Accident

Are you having pain in your hips or legs after a car accident? These injuries could point to a serious musculoskeletal injury that requires medical attention.

It’s not just your back you have to worry about following a car accident. Your entire musculoskeletal system may be compromised if you’ve been in a collision. It’s very common for people to seek treatment for neck and back pain after car accidents because these are the areas of the body that experience painful “jolting” that can create instant pain and stiffness. However, many people also find that hip pain and leg pain begin to creep in during the days and weeks following a car accident.

Here at Guardian Medical, we’ve seen the way that ignoring hip and leg pain following a car accident can leave people in desperate situations. That’s why the importance of seeking treatment for hip and leg pain immediately following an accident should be discussed more frequently by care providers. Are you struggling with pain, stiffness, tightness, numbness, tingling, or inflammation in the hips or legs after being in an accident? It’s important to know what might be happening within your musculoskeletal system to cause these symptoms. Take a look at why hip and leg injuries should never be dismissed.

Why Hip and Leg Injuries Require Attention Following a Car Accident

Your hips play a crucial role in bearing the load of your musculoskeletal system. In fact, the hips actually affect nearly every movement your body makes. Most people don’t even think about this fact simply because hip movements are so natural and automatic. However, each hip should be considered a crucial load-bearing joint that ultimately controls how the upper half and lower half of the bodywork collaborate.

If your hip joint is affected by the impact of a car accident, there is potential for severe pain and dysfunction. While some people feel pain right away, others experience something called delayed hip pain. What commonly happens during a car accident is that the hip joint experiences trauma from the force of the collision. The pain will often trickle in slowly as the space in the hip joint becomes filled with fluid over time. This will ultimately cause the entire hip capsule to become filled with fluid. When this happens, people tend to experience pain with reduced mobility. Hip injuries don’t necessarily stay concentrated in the hip region.

The pain and inflammation tend to produce symptoms that spread to the following areas:

• Thighs.
• Groin.
• Buttocks.
• The inside of the hip joint.

Some people experience referred pain when they have a hip injury. The centralized location of the hip means that the nerve connections throughout the hip can essentially cause pain to travel anywhere in the body. In some cases, pain shoots downward through the legs and feet. Pain can also shoot upward toward the back and neck.

What Are Some Common Hip and Leg Injuries After a Car Accident?

Due to the complexity of the hip and leg structures, injuries affecting the lower half of the body can affect bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Some of the most common injuries you’re at risk for if you’ve been in a car accident include:

• Hip fractures.
• Broken leg.
• Kneecap injury.
• Bursitis.
• Tendonitis.

An untreated hip or leg injury can also put you at increased risk for arthritis over time. One of the most serious aspects of a hip or leg injury is that it can truly alter the way a person moves. This can set off a chain reaction that creates a lifetime of pain and dysfunction. When the hips are out of alignment, a person will begin to walk with an altered gait. This can sometimes be so subtle that it goes unnoticed. However, the uneven pressure being applied to the spinal column with the impact of every step can ultimately create severe compression and bulging of spinal discs. Over time, this creates subluxations and misalignments that cause pain, inflammation, slow healing, loss of flexibility, and reduced range of motion.

Don’t Live With Hip and Leg Pain After a Car Accident

Taking measures to treat hip and leg pain after a car accident can be one of the most important things you do to prevent the need for hip replacement surgery down the line. At Guardian Medical, we’re focused on helping accident victims get the important treatments they need right away to avoid chronic dysfunction. Our team of medical doctors accompanies clients to their medical appointments with their preferred chiropractors, physical therapists, or other holistic providers. Call 303-222-0363 to learn more about having a doctor from Guardian Medical involved in your treatment when managing claims following a car accident.