How Adrenaline Can Mask Pain After a Car Accident

 Posted on August 28, 2017 in Personal Injury

Getting into a car accident is frightening, confusing, and stressful. A thousand thoughts run through a person’s head after they have been involved in a crash. Is anyone injured? Should I call the police? Am I at fault? While you are surveying the situation following a car crash, it is important to check yourself for injuries. Car accidents can cause soft tissue damage, concussions, whiplash, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones. Many individuals are quick to conclude that they are not injured after an accident even though they may be. The reality is that car accidents can be very dangerous. Americans spend more than 1 million days in the hospital due to car crash injuries, and it is estimated that 20-50 million people are injured or disabled in car accidents each year.

You May Be More Hurt Than You Realize

It is important to understand the way adrenaline affects a person’s body following a car accident or other potentially traumatic event. Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, is known as the “fight or flight” hormone. After a frightening or dangerous event, adrenaline floods a person’s bloodstream. The hormone raises the individual’s heart rate, dilates the pupils, and increases sweat production. The purpose of the hormone is to prepare the person to deal with the hazardous circumstances.

Adrenaline, however, can also block the sensation of pain. The phenomenon is called “stress-induced analgesia,” and it can be dangerously misleading. Immediately following a car accident, an injured person may be more seriously hurt than they realize because of stress-induced analgesia. The injured person may not immediately feel the pain from his or her injuries, and he or she may cause further damage by getting up and walking around or delaying medical treatment. This is one of the main reasons that it is always a good idea to get checked out by a medical professional following any motor vehicle crash.

Get the Help You Need

A proper medical examination can also preserve your ability to collect compensation from the party who caused your accident. Delayed treatment or symptoms that do not appear until days or weeks later can be more difficult to relate directly to the crash, and insurance companies may try to escape liability as a result.

If you have been injured in a car accident, our knowledgeable Kane County personal injury attorneys can help you seek damages medical expenses and other compensation available under the law. Call 630-907-0909 for a free consultation at Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur, P.C. today.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/crash-injuries/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/dailydose/12/03/stress.block.pain/index.html