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What Is Muscle Strain?

Muscle strains are a type of soft tissue injury. During a car accident, violent forces and unnatural movements can damage the soft tissue in the muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments in the neck, back and other muscles of the body.

Examples of soft tissues injuries include:

  • Contusions: The medical term for a “bruise”
  • Strains: Injuries to the muscles or tendons (thick bands of cartilage that connect muscles to bones)
  • Sprains: Injuries to ligaments (thick bands of cartilage that connect bone to bone)

Sometimes the muscle can even be torn, resulting in more serious injury and long-term damage.

The most common causes of muscle damage injuries include:

Symptoms of a soft tissue injury such as a muscle strain include soreness, limited range of motion, and stiffness in the affected extremity. Accident victims who have suffered muscle damage may have trouble moving without pain. This can impact their ability to walk, perform their jobs, and deal with the daily activities of life.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Soft Tissue Damage After a Car Accident

Diagnosing muscle damage is difficult, so it’s crucial to have a medical professional conduct a thorough physical exam after an accident. Conventional diagnostic tests, such as MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays, are not able to pick up all soft tissue injuries. As such, a diagnosis must be made by a qualified medical professional after an extensive examination.

Your doctor will review your symptoms, check for swelling and points of tenderness, and use that information to determine what type of soft tissue injury you have suffered.

As you recover from your accident, remember that every muscle strain is unique, so a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment won’t work. Physical therapy may help some accident victims heal quickly, while others do not seem to respond well to therapy.

Likewise, the cost of treating a soft tissue injury, such as muscle damage, is unpredictable. Some injured accident victims with muscle damage will need minimal treatment and medication, while others will need months or years of therapy. Others may develop additional complications from their soft tissue injury, such as scar tissue or fibromyalgia.

A common treatment approach that’s recommended by top doctors is the R.I.C.E method:

  • Rest: Avoid strenuous or painful activities, but stay active enough to facilitate a healthy healing process.
  • Ice: Ice for 15 to 20 minutes every few hours in the days after your injury.
  • Compress: Wrap the injured area with a bandage to minimize swelling — but don’t wrap so tightly as to cause numbness or additional pain.
  • Elevate: Raise the injured area above your heart, especially when sleeping, to keep swelling down.

In addition to using the R.I.C.E method at home, some doctors recommend taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) to ease the discomfort. You should avoid other OTC pain relievers (for example, Advil and Aleve), as they might increase your risk of bleeding.

Keep in mind that every soft tissue injury is different, so you should follow your doctor’s recommended treatment plan carefully to create a speedier recovery and strengthen your case if you need to file a personal injury lawsuit.

What to Do if You Have a Muscle Strain After an Accident

The best thing you can do after you suffer muscle damage in a car, truck or motorcycle accident is to seek medical attention immediately. The same is true if the injury results from falling or from physical abuse. Even though soft tissue injuries are difficult to diagnose, it is important to begin the medical process as soon as possible. It is harder to make a claim for injury if you haven’t sought medical help.

Once you have seen your doctor, it is important to follow the treatment plan precisely. Attend all therapy and doctor appointments and be sure to fill all prescriptions promptly. Insurance companies will use anything to help reduce your claim. If you miss appointments or do not take medications, they may use this as evidence that you are not as injured as you claim to be.

Always keep records of your treatments and all diagnostics. In addition, be sure to keep receipts for any over-the-counter medications you take. Keeping meticulous records will help your attorney build your case.

Once you’ve received medical attention, it’s important to reach out to an Arkansas soft tissue injury lawyer who can help you make informed decisions throughout the legal process. Insurance companies often refuse to pay for injuries they don’t deem to be serious enough, and they always try to reduce their liability by minimizing the extent of your injury’s impact on your life.

An experienced attorney like ours at Rainwater, Holt & Sexton will push back on insurance companies, ensuring that the full scope of your injury is taken into account. Remember, Arkansas accident victims who have sustained soft tissue injuries typically secure a higher soft tissue injury settlement when they work with a lawyer — especially if their injuries are serious!

If you were injured in a car accident, give us a call, and we’ll provide compassionate legal advice and help you make the right decision for you and your family.

Compensation for Muscle Damage Injuries

The amount of money you receive after suffering muscle damage largely depends on the extent of your injury,the disabilities you face, and how well you’ve documented your injury and the recovery process.

Most muscle injuries will resolve relatively quickly with minimal treatment. However, for some injury victims, a muscle strain can turn their lives upside down, making it harder to work and fully enjoy life. When this is the case, you need an experienced lawyer representing you and your future.

In general, the “at fault” driver’s insurance company is responsible for injuries that their negligence caused. Compensation for injuries falls into two main buckets: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include things that are easy to quantify (for example, lost wages or car repairs). Non-economic damages are harder to pin down but equally important: things like pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment in life.

Our experienced soft tissue injury lawyers will gather all the evidence needed to build a strong case on your behalf, and pursue all possible avenues to compensation, including money for:

  • Medical expenses (past and future)
  • Rehabilitation
  • Long-term care
  • Disability
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Pain and suffering
  • Recovery of lost wages
  • Loss of future earnings

Maximize Your Recovery with Rainwater

At Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, our Arkansas injury lawyers know that injured accident victims need money now to pay for their medical expenses and rehabilitation. That’s why we work tirelessly from the start to help you obtain the maximum compensation you are entitled to.

We have helped numerous injured accident victims in Arkansas and Tennessee put their lives together again after a serious accident. Here are just a few of the injury settlements we have obtained for our clients.

We’re eager to guide you through the legal process, helping you to obtain justice and fair compensation.

We’re There When You Need Us

If you’ve suffered muscle damage in an accident, you need the help of an experienced and skilled car accident lawyer.

At Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, our injury attorneys know that major muscle strains can be traumatic and can result in a lifetime of struggles. That’s why we advocate tirelessly for you, offering compassionate legal guidance and keeping you in the loop every step of the way.

With eight offices in Arkansas - Little Rock, Little Rock-Corporate Hill, Springdale, Conway, Hot Springs, Bryant, Jacksonville, and Jonesboro—our lawyers are there whenever you need us. Contact Rainwater, Holt & Sexton Injury Lawyers today to begin your path to compensation.

We’re here to help.

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