Post Traumatic Osteoarthritis After a Car Accident
Last updated Tuesday, April 25th, 2023
If you’ve been in an auto accident, know that you’re not alone and that some car accident victims wonder why they experience soreness or stiffness for the first few days after a crash, followed by no pain at all. What many of them don’t know is that a delay in symptoms of injury and pain is relatively common after car accidents. Despite the fact that arthritis is typically known as a condition that develops over time and appears in the elderly, joint injuries sustained in auto accidents can hasten the arthritic process and lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA). While this condition will not likely appear immediately following an accident, it can develop after a car wreck and leave its victims in pain that manifests after some time has gone by. This is known as osteoarthritis after a car accident.
Misconceptions, Secondary Osteoarthritis, & Causes
Osteoarthritis often causes pain on a daily basis and gets progressively worse over time, sometimes significantly affecting one’s posture. Since the condition develops often in the elderly, many people assume that OA’s tendency to worsen over time means that it develops only due to wear and tear of the body, a common misconception. In reality, the condition can be caused by other factors and, in such cases, is termed secondary osteoarthritis. A common cause of secondary OA is a prior injury to the joints, which occurs in many car accidents, and surgery, which is sometimes necessary after car accidents.
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What Are The Symptoms of Osteoarthritis (OA)?
Sufferers of osteoarthritis often have a limited range of motion, especially in terms of pain-free motion. Other symptoms are intense, chronic pain, joint inflammation, stiffness if inactive for a period of time, bone spurs, joint cracking or even deformity, tenderness, and difficulty carrying heavy objects or bearing weight on the affected area.
If you feel that you may be suffering from OA that resulted from a car accident or other type of motor vehicle accident, you should consult with a physician if you have not been properly diagnosed or attempted some form of treatment. If you have any questions for an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney, please feel free to call us.
We handle cases in Douglasville, Austell, Carrollton, Villa Rica, and throughout metro Atlanta, and we will answer your questions for free at 770-577-3020.
