You’ve just been in an auto collision and you begin to feel your back, shoulders, or neck stiffen up. Your discomfort is affecting your daily routine and you need a recovery plan. The most important aspect of treatment of auto accident injuries is to know which treatments are appropriate.

The proper treatments can significantly decrease your downtime, speed up your recovery, and sooth your discomfort. With proper treatment you will also be able to lower medical costs. After all, it’s easier to treat a new injury rather than one that has gotten progressively worse.

Inflammation occurs immediately after an injury.  Inflammation is a localized swelling and tenderness as a result of torn or bruised tissue. Some injuries take 1-3 days to become inflamed. After an accident, it’s common for someone involved to not seek medical attention because an injury does not hurt enough or even at all. Days later after the inflammation has built up, they will begin to feel the symptoms of the injury.

It is important that treatment on injuries is started immediately. The sooner someone can treat their injury the less downtime they will experience. This can also insure that the injury does not worsen.

As simple a treatment as it may sound, ice packs can be very beneficial in treating an auto accident injury. Ice helps alleviate symptoms and also helps keep swelling down. The less swelling an injury accumulates, the less downtime that can be expected. Ice and a little water in a plastic bag is the first step to recovery.

Gravity also has an effect on auto accident injuries. Injuries involving the lower extremities, arms or legs, are prone to the effects of gravity. In an inflamed area where swelling has occurred has limited blood flow. When the body pumps blood as usual and it reaches an inflamed area its path is slowed, thus creating more inflammation. Elevating arms and legs that have suffered injury from a car crash helps keep them from swelling due to retaining fluid.

Compression is also a key component when treating an auto accident injury that has swelling. Compression bandages help reduce swelling by limiting the elastic capability of the skin and surrounding tissues. Compression bandages should be applied firmly, but not too tight. The skin still needs room to react naturally to the injury. Wrapping an ice pack to the swollen area is also an option.

These simple remedies are great for treating auto accident injuries like stiffness, scrapes, bruising, and pulled muscles; but, it is always important to see a medical professional after being involved in an incident. What you see and feel may not tell you the severity of your condition.