Soft Tissue Injuries and How They Heal

Most people who have injuries in car accidents sustain so called “soft tissue injuries.” The term “soft tissue” was originally not a medical term at all. It was coined by the insurance industry in order to minimize the seriousness of such injuries so that Judges would award car accident victims less money. Over the years, unfortunately, it has been adopted by the medical profession.

Technically, soft tissue injuries are injuries to the muscles, tendons and ligaments, primarily in the neck and back area. The most common symptoms and signs are neck and back pain, reduced motion and headaches.

The recommended treatment programme is:

(a) regular   visits to the medical doctor for advice and prescriptions for pain killers, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs

(b) passive care involving chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage or acupuncture for up to six months

(c) a programme of active rehabilitation / kinesiology / exercise therapy followed by a sustainable self directed home or gym based stretching and strengthening programme

Most car accident patients recover within six months. Many do not. Technically, those patients who don’t heal have chronic pain. The problem can be in the muscles and ligaments, in the joints or in the discs between the individual spinal bones.

After about six months, it is thought that passive forms of care such as physiotherapy and chiropractic are effective only to manage the pain as a healthy alternative to narcotic prescriptions.

So, if you are in a car accident, and suffer the usual neck pain, back pain and headaches, you want to see your medical doctor regularly, have a good programme of passive care and follow it up with an active rehab programme.